


Lunar Expedition

by DreamerSerenade



Series: The Four Crystals Series [1]
Category: Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Crystal Tokyo, F/F, F/M, M/M, Post-Sailor Stars, Silver Millennium, present day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-02
Updated: 2012-11-01
Packaged: 2017-11-15 12:31:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 117,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/527336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamerSerenade/pseuds/DreamerSerenade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Usagi and her protectors have created a peaceful life for themselves on Earth. But when the humans send their astronauts on another lunar expedition, they discover the remains of Silver Millennium, a discovery that will change the course of life on Earth forever. Was the Moon Kingdom ever meant to be found?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost Kingdom Found

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted on FanFiction.net under my other penname, I'm moving the story here to see if I can't kickstart my brain into finishing the rest of the series. This particular story is complete though so I hope everyone enjoys it!

Usagi grabbed a plate of cookies her mother had made a few minutes ago and plopped down in front of the television. She munched happily on the still-warm sugar cookies and pulled the remote control towards her with her toe, leaning over to grab it with sticky fingers. Her mother said something to Usagi’s brother, Shingo, as he too received a plateful of cookies as Usagi flipped through some channels.

The walls flashed green, then pink, then green again as various soap operas, anime, and nature channels flashed across the screen. Usagi mechanically lifted each cookie to her lips, staring just above the screen at a family portrait of her parents, a baby Shingo, and a much younger Usagi (missing her front tooth) grinning back at her. She wasn’t really paying attention to what was right in front of her, instead focusing on what she would have to do that afternoon.

First she had to pack for a sleepover at Rei’s temple (toothbrush, pajamas, the bunny stuffed animal that Mamoru had bought her the year before, hair brush, shampoo and conditioner, cell phone with the crescent moon charm, her transmitter, socks… was there anything else?) and then there was the Senshi meeting scheduled for an hour or so before bedtime.

That meant she’d have roughly two hours in which to attempt (however futilely) some of the mounting homework she had been putting off thus far. She also had to find some time to talk to her parents about getting a part-time job since she wasn’t too happy about her allowance (she dreaded this, fairly sure that it wouldn’t happen on a basis of time alone). She also had to look into some extra training and replacements for patrolling since there hadn’t been any attacks from any youma lately and that usually meant something pretty bad was eventually going to happen.

Some other little thoughts passed through her mind as she zoned out further, ignoring the television even as she held the remote control limply. She even stopped nibbling on the cookie in her hand, instead pressing it against her bottom lip. Shingo plopped down beside her and started laughing. Attracted by the sound, Usagi looked over at him.

“What?” she asked curiously.

“You’re watching the news? Since when do you care what happens in the world outside of your comics,” he chortled. Usagi looked over at the television and flushed. There was some kind of event going on that looked so completely boring, she normally would have just skipped over it if she had been paying attention. The only time she watched the news was when some dark energy queen/king decided to destroy the Earth and she had to watch for signs of destruction. She started to retort that she did pay attention to the news, sometimes (which was technically true) and that he shouldn’t make such rude comments about his older sister when she caught a couple words from the television.

“Experts have claimed to see unidentifiable objects on the dark side of the moon’s surface that were recently undetectable through earlier technologies but which have caused a stir of intellectual curiosity since their discovery several months ago. The most recent moon launch by the Americans were sent to recover samples from a site close to the location in question and, through international cooperation and assistance, has been routed to explore this area, known as the “Mare Serenitatis,” or the “Sea of Serenity.” Here is a picture of this area as seen from the Lunar XI254 satellite launched four years ago.”

As the reporter said this, a crisp picture of a crater in the moon was shown. The crest of the crater was shown as starkly white and very bright whereas the depression and the surrounding ground were black and deep. Serena peered closer, trying to see what “unidentifiable” objects the scientists had supposedly seen.

The screen changed to show a group of four people walking towards a space shuttle. A woman, drowned in the heavy astronaut suit, made a peace sign at the camera. The camera angle changed again to show the anchor speaking.

“Oh my God, you actually are watching the news,” Shingo suddenly said, awed. Usagi prepared a sharp retort but couldn’t bring herself to. She was curious about the news report. Anything about the moon always interested her.

“Hush,” she said instead, munching on another cookie. Shingo stared at her for a moment but then turned curiously towards the television, probably determined to find out what could be so fascinating as to attract Usagi’s generally short attention.

“Scientists have not disclosed pictures of the supposed questionable clues found on the moon which have sparked their sudden interest in this area, but the media has been assured that when something substantial is found, the public will be informed of their discoveries. What mysterious does the moon still hold? Are there signs of life which we have not discovered yet which will lead us to breakthroughs in theories about how life was created in the universe? We may never know. Until we receive more information, this is Miago Katsumoto reporting.”

Usagi frowned thoughtfully as she leaned back, munching on a cookie. What could scientists find that would make news reports? Usually they kept their discoveries for people who actually cared about such things. She knew that scientists made discoveries all the time about the moon and surrounding planets that broke new ground in scientific research but that the general public usually found boring (just because they’d found evidence of iron in one of their rocks didn’t mean people understood why that was important). It was the big discoveries, such as evidence of ice on Mars for example, that attracted media attention because it suggested that life could have existed. At least, that’s the way Luna had always explained it to her.

Shingo continued to watch the program, even as it switched to commentary on the weather for the weekend and upcoming events, such a concert appearances for well-known pop stars. Shrugging to herself, Usagi stood and took her plate back to the kitchen sink and pecked her mom on the cheek before heading to her room. Whatever this new discovery was, it probably wouldn’t affect her.

…

Katherine Mulligan had dreamt of being an astronaut since she was five years old. Her parents had not worried about her choice of career, though they had hoped that their only daughter’s aspirations at that age would run closer to that of becoming a ballerina or an actress.

When she grew older and showed no signs of changing her mind, her parents decided to help her along her path by sending her to one of the top math and science colleges in the United States (they didn’t have any other control over her). Her grades were spectacular and she moved up the ranks quickly until, finally, she had joined the Artemis Explorer’s team. She was the third youngest person (and the second youngest woman) to go up into space to the moon.

Standing there now, on the crest of a giant crater in the middle of space with two men bouncing effortlessly ahead of her, she felt the joy and triumph of a woman whose success had come early. She grinned as she followed her team down the crater edge, excited by what she had been sent to do. To explore, study, gather groundbreaking samples for the labs back on Earth… she felt like a pioneer.

The sky seemed massive from her, stretching beyond the horizon. Galaxies lazily drifted overhead, lighting their path and making Katherine feel small and important. She was among giants here and, part of her felt, she was being watched by them. She felt as if she were on the cusp of something magnificent.

As they reached the checkpoint that headquarters had set for them, the team took a break. Katherine sat beside Michael Jacobs, her hands clenching and unclenching in their sausage-like gloves. They grinned at each other as Josh Grivet stood beside them.

Michael was the technician and therefore could fix everything, including Katherine’s iPod when the stupid thing got stuck on shuffle mode. She viewed him as something of a genius and didn’t hold his childish pranks against him. He was the one who they went to if the equipment went to hell and they were all going to die unless it was fixed within the next few seconds.

Josh specialized in the intellectual and mathematical part of the mission and communication with headquarters. If he wasn’t their official leader, Katherine suspected he would be the type of guy to go out drinking with them on their nights off. As it was, he had been a bit removed from them during training. Now, sleeping a few feet away from each other and living within the confined space of the shuttle had brought them all closer.

As for Katherine herself, she was the weather specialist who studied the charts and information that streamed constantly through their instruments to warn them of conditions on the moon that could affect their landing departure. She’d fought her way to this position through sheer willpower and astounding luck (one of her competitors had come down with strep throat just before the selection process and she’d been at the right place at the right time). As such, it was something of a miracle that she was standing there on that day.

She smiled and resisted the urge to scratch the back of her neck where sweat and hair clung to her space suit. She felt light and happy, and it wasn’t all because of the lighter gravity. Michael juggled three uncooperative moon rocks as Josh chatted with headquarters about their timing and how long it would take them to explore the crater and get back, ensuring they had enough oxygen in their suits for the trip.

“Let’s get going, people,” Josh said when he cut off communication. Katherine grinned as she used a nearby rock to stand and followed the other men in single file. She looked around, hoping to find something remarkable. The reports had been promising, showing what appeared to be a river of ice that resembled tree roots as they branched out all around the crater.

Scientists back at headquarters theorized that the ice may have stemmed from a young comet whose ice had melted and solidified after the collision; they speculated that the comet may have contributed to the crater itself. This was a good theory, but it was still a theory. It was up to their small band of astronauts to find pieces of the comet and perhaps, from these samples, discover something new about both the moon and the outer recesses of space.

“What the hell is that?” Michael demanded, breaking Katherine’s train of thought. She immediately looked around, desperate to see whatever he was seeing.

“What? What is it?” she asked. Her suit did not help her mobility and she held her breath when he pointed a pudgy finger somewhere to his right.

“Don’t you see the little green men?” he couldn’t help but snort halfway through his comment and started laughing. Josh snickered before he faced forward again and all she could see was the back of his suit. She glared at them as they bounced ahead of her.

“Ha ha, very funny,” she said, although she couldn’t stop her smiling (they couldn’t see her anyway). Part of her had sort of expected to see a little green man waving at her from behind a dusty dune. “Can we get down to business please? We’re trying to be serious professionals, aren’t we?”

“Uh huh,” Josh said amusedly. “That’s us. Totally professional.”

“Who’s bright idea was it to send us up here again?” Michael said.

They bounced in silence for a few minutes before Katherine noticed something odd, or at least odder than she’d come to expect from being on an alien planet. There was a strange object sticking out of the ground ahead of them, something that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the otherwise bare, dusty ground. It wasn’t a regular dune, nor was it shaped like the rocks that had peppered their journey thus far. Michael was the one who sped up a little to investigate it.

“Well, that’s weird,” he said as his companions came closer. Josh peered at whatever was in the ground and lifted it carefully. He made a strangled sound and dropped it, jumping back. Katherine and Michael hurriedly waddled forward to see what it was. Michael tripped on his own feet and fell on his face, bouncing forward. He stared up from the ground, his eyes wide. Josh looked wildly at Katherine, who could now see that his face was raw with surprise.

“This has to be a mistake,” he whispered. Michael crawled to his knees and peered closer at the object. Josh helped him to his feet as Michael slowly pulled the object out of the dust and he too gasped. This time Katherine leaned forward and she could see it. It was a painting.

“Holy… no, it can’t be. Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Michael whispered, his eyes wide. Josh knelt by the painting and peered at it. “Oh my god.”

“Little green men…” Michael mumbled. He crossed himself as he held onto the painting. Katherine thought the action a bit archaic but when she saw the painting more closely, she felt it was somewhat warranted.

“That doesn’t look like a little green man,” she heard herself say. Indeed, it wasn’t. A regal, slender woman dominated the painting. Her long silver hair trailed out behind her, carefully framing her hear-shaped face. Her large blue eyes smiled with her perfect lips. That wasn’t the extraordinary part of her. The extraordinary part was the full, brilliant silver moon mark on her forehead, highlighted in the painting by the background of a crescent shape of the Earth behind her.

“Someone’s screwing with us. This can’t be real,” Michael said.

“How?” Katherine said. She didn’t go near the painting, too frightened that it would disappear. “How could someone possibly be screwing with us?” Josh wandered away from them, his movements jerky.

“I don’t know, but someone’s definitely pulling our chain. There’s absolutely no way…” Michael said, sitting back with the painting still clutched in one hand.

“Uh, guys? You need to see this,” Josh said from farther down the crater. Katherine hadn’t even noticed his absence until then.

“Not right now, Josh. This is-,” Michael began.

“No, I really mean it. Get your asses over here,” Josh said. Katherine looked down the crater at where he stood and slowly went towards him, her heart in her throat. As she came closer and looked over the ridge into the center of the crater, she felt numbness spread throughout her body.

There were pieces of buildings everywhere. Some were reduced to rubble but some, in a freak act of luck, were completely intact. They looked like Greek columns, she thought, and promptly fell back on an old memory.

She was a freshman in college again, forced to take an introductory course in English literature and the teacher was old, possibly blind, and hated the students as much as they hated her back. She forced them to read every deplorable line of John Keats’s “Endymion,” a convoluted, confusing, and completely ridiculous piece of shit she swore to bleach from her memory forever afterwards. He was obsessed with writing an epic poem that would change the world, and he thought he could do that by spouting romantic drivel from a not-so-cleverly disguised self-insertion. She’d thought the five bucks she got back for selling her book was too expensive for the terrible poetry within.

In that moment, standing there staring at the empty courtyards and the broken fountains, on the moon, in space, she recalled a section from the poem when Endymion was dreaming:

O known Unknown! from whom my being sips  
Such darling essence, wherefore may I not  
Be ever in these arms? in this sweet spot  
Pillow my chin for ever? ever press  
These toying hands and kiss their smooth excess?  
Why not for ever and for ever feel  
That breath about my eyes? Ah, thou wilt steal  
Away from me again, indeed, indeed.” *  


She had no idea why she remembered that part of the poem, especially because it was the section her professor had referred to as Keats’s “mental masturbation,” colorfully called that by Lord Byron, another writer she’d hated. The poem stayed in her mind, surprising and confusing her, as she stared at everything around her.

She shook the memories away and focused on her surroundings, bounding forward to join her colleagues. They were already in the dust, lifting things carefully, staring at things, ignoring each other completely. As she came closer, she saw something just as strange as the buildings themselves. There were large clumps of ice everywhere. No, not ice, Katherine thought as she and the others mutely moved forward. Bodies. There were bodies encased in the ice, which couldn’t be ice. Its crystal, she realized.

“What the hell is this place?” Michael mumbled. Katherine tried to say something but couldn’t. Keats continued to echo in her mind, endlessly, different poems she never knew she’d memorized.

“We have to get back to the ship,” Josh said. “We have to call headquarters. We have to report all of this…”

“Pictures,” she heard herself mumble. The two men looked at her, surprised by the strange word, as if she’d said pizza or fireball. “We need proof of this for them to see. We need to take a lot of pictures. And we should try to bring as much of this back as we can.” To prove we aren’t crazy, she mentally added. She thought of how a lot of people had thought Keats was crazy, too… She’d been one of those people but now, she liked the long-dead poet more and more. Funny that she had to go to another planet to realize she’d liked Keats all along, under all that hate for his work.

All the astronauts were probably thinking the same thing, she was sure. They couldn’t bring themselves to speak as they gathered samples and photographs of everything they found.


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I have had it with these grades! No more excuses, no more broken promises. You are hereby grounded! I am withholding your allowance for the next month, I can't believe I have to resort to this sort of punishment system when you are old enough to know better!” Usagi stared in open-mouthed horror at her father. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of editing! I'm glad I decided to repost this story, I'm enjoying rereading it as I go. Next chapter should be up tomorrow after a bit of tweaking.

“I have had it with these grades! No more excuses, no more broken promises. You are hereby grounded! I am withholding your allowance for the next month, I can't believe I have to resort to this sort of punishment system when you are old enough to know better!” Usagi stared in open-mouthed horror at her father. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.

“No allowance for a month?” she gasped.

“For two months,” he yelled. Usagi flinched back, eyes wide. That tone of voice was not one that would be good to argue with. It wasn't even the sort of tone that was wise to make protesting faces at. With dawning horror and intense shame, she realized that he was serious.

“Sweetheart, maybe you’re being a little too harsh on-,” Ikuko tried.

“Not right now,” Kenji hissed at his wife, eyes narrowed. Usagi’s mother quieted and lowered her head. This wasn’t the moment for her to argue either. He needed to calm down before either one could approach him. That alone made Usagi swallow down her panic hard. No allowance for two months was a big deal: she hadn't had much time to indulge in her usual comic books and treats to go out as much because of her added Senshi duties of late, but that didn't mean that she didn't use that money on occasion. She had to convince him to forgive her, or to at least think it over.

“Daddy, I didn’t mean to do so badly. I really tried to do better,” Usagi said, curving her shoulders and pressing her hands to her lap. It made her look like a small child, twisting her fingers around a piece of loose string on her uniform. Maybe she could somehow salvage this whole mess. Maybe there was a way she could make her father see reason and keep him from punishing her for something completely out of her control.

“Well, you didn’t try hard enough, now did you? A 32 in Algebra, Usagi? An overall failing grade in a class you are taking for a second time? Not to mention your other scores! I can’t believe you have the nerve to look me in the face, with grades that horrible.” Usagi winced under his scathing tone, bowing her head to his criticism. She’d never seen him this livid about her grades before. Her mother, certainly, had yelled at her for her scores in the past, but also forgave her just as quickly. She'd be punished in little ways: no dessert, no TV time, things like that. But her father had always been so good-natured about it all, optimistically pointing out that she was young, and so social, and really, she’d get it right eventually. She was just a late academic bloomer, just like he’d been in school. That easy-going smile was nowhere in sight at the moment.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Usagi mumbled, too scared to look at anything but her shoes. “I really am. It's a really hard class but I swear I can do better.”

“I highly doubt that you could pull it off without some sort of intervention. Well, guess what? This is that intervention,” Kenji yelled, keeping his gaze leveled on her face. She could practically feel his laser-like gaze and wished a black hole would swallow her up. “Now go upstairs and study. We’re getting you a tutor tomorrow and you are going to get extra help from your teachers after school. I don’t want to hear any excuses!” Usagi closed her mouth, swallowing her protests. She could feel the shame radiating off of her, shoulders hunched and face red as she desperately tried not to cry. The Senshi were going to be furious when they found out about this. “I’m going to call your school tomorrow and arrange for all of this. No daughter of mine is going to drop out of school. Now go upstairs. Get out of my sight.”

When she peeked up through her bangs, she watched her father stomp over to the couch in the living room and slump into it. He pressed his forehead into his hands and stayed there, breathing hard. Usagi could see the veins in his hands and at his temples, the redness of his face and neck. Sighing very softly, she started upstairs. She thought to apologize to her father, to say “I really wouldn’t have done so badly if I wasn’t out fighting evil and trying to protect everyone,” but she knew it wouldn’t help. Even the truth wouldn’t have helped, that when she’d finally tried to get help for her grades, from Ami or from her school, a youma had always shown up and tried to kill everyone in sight. And if that didn't happen, she fell asleep out of pure exhaustion. And...and she really did need to relax sometimes, and after a long time fighting youma, the last thing she wanted to contemplate was school. That only made it feel more shameful, because she could already think of a couple of times she could have...maybe...studied a little bit more.

At the top of the stairs, she heard her mother’s shuffling steps and then a grunt of annoyance from her father. “Honey,” Ikuko said softly, “that was a bit harsh.”

“Being nice hasn’t helped at all,” Kenji growled. Usagi could picture him, shoulders tense and clenched fists, as her mother stroked his hair. “I have had it, Ikuko. I am not going to let our daughter destroy her chances for a good future.”

“She’s not doing it on purpose,” Ikuko said. “Look, I think talking to her teachers may be a bit extreme. Why don’t I call her friend, Ami, and ask if she’ll tutor Usagi formally? I know they study together sometimes and I know she does better because of the help…maybe if they studied together more it would improve her grades? Perhaps if we explained to Ami, she would know to keep Usagi on track and get her to actively pursue her studies if she knew the situation?”

“I don’t know,” Kenji grumbled. “I just don’t know…I feel like calling the school isn’t enough. Bad enough that they had to call me at work to tell me how poorly she was doing. I feel like we have to lock her in her room and force her to study. I see her come home late every night from her friend’s houses and she’s too exhausted to do her chores, let alone study. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

There was silence for a moment and Usagi almost walked to her room, feeling miserable for causing her parents this distress, when her father’s next sentence stopped her cold.

“I think we need to tell her to stop seeing that boy,” Kenji said darkly.

“You mean Mamoru?” Ikuko said, sounding surprised. “Why? They’re clearly in love with each other.”

“Usagi has no idea what it means to be in love with anyone,” Kenji protested sharply. “She’s far too young to be in a relationship. And he’s too old for her. I’m just saying…I don’t think it’s a healthy relationship for her, especially with the way her grades have been slipping. If we want her to take this seriously, I think we should put a clear end to that.”

“No you don’t,” Ikuko said firmly. Usagi could see her mother towering over her father, arms crossed and a stubborn scowl on her face. “You are not doing this. You are not going to use this as an excuse to break them up. They have been dating for years! Mamoru has been nothing but courteous, treating us with the utmost respect and cordiality, even when you are outright cold to him. And he is a fantastic student, perhaps the only one I know who can make Usagi sit down and actually study. If anything else, we should be encouraging them to stay together and asking him for help.”

“He’s too old to date Usagi!” Kenji protested.

“He is also a dedicated student, top of his class, has a steady job, good friends, a nice apartment in a good building, and the most important of all, he loves Usagi. He would do anything for her. If anything, he has been a good influence on her,” Ikuko said.

There was a tense silence from below and Usagi barely breathed. She felt even more wretched than when she’d been getting yelled at for something out of her control. If they made her stop seeing Mamo-chan…if they made her leave him…the pain was too intense to fathom. She wouldn't do it. She just...wouldn't. But she had no idea what she would do instead. How could she still continue to see him, ignoring her parents' wishes?

“Fine,” Kenji said at last. “I won’t bring it up with her. But she’s grounded for two months. If she doesn’t get her grades up to my satisfaction, she won’t be seeing anything but her textbooks until she's 80.”

They fell into silence after that, or spoke so quietly that Usagi couldn’t hear them anymore. She exhaled softly and tiptoed to her room, gently shutting the door so it wouldn’t creak at the end. She crawled into bed and curled up into a ball, closing her eyes so that her vision no longer blurred with tears. She rested her forehead against her hands, in a similar pose as her father downstairs, and felt more hurt than angry. It wasn’t the allowance that really bothered her, though it didn’t help; nor was it her father’s complete loathing of Mamo-chan, although that also hurt. It was the lack of trust in her, the intense disappointment, the way he looked at her as if she was a failure. She opened her eyes and turned her head, looking at herself in her vanity mirror. She saw tear tracks down her cheeks and wounded blue eyes. She looked ugly, red, puffy.

“God, they really think I’m a moron,” she whispered to her reflection. She stood and went to sit before her vanity, staring at herself. Looking into her red-rimmed eyes, she felt a strange, despairing calm come over her. “They think I’m really, really stupid. What am I going to do? How can I fix this when it means giving up what I am? Protecting those that I love?” Even when they punish me for that protection. The thought of youma crawling over the dead bodies of her best friends while she sat comfortably in her room studying sent a chill up her spine. How could she be expected to do that? They were all working as much as possible, trying to balance their public and private lives. How could she ask them to make an added sacrifice for her?

Her reflection didn’t give her any answers, only the sad face she wore. Sighing softly, she lowered her head into her arms, leaning her hair against the mirror. How was she going to tell the Senshi about this? It was no longer a matter of angering her parents a little or skipping school when a new threat arrived. This was serious trouble she’d just landed herself in. Missing those three appointments for advanced placement and university planning had been the absolute wrong move, and she couldn't even blame the youma for that. She'd simply forgotten, or thought it wasn't important, or...so many reasons she thought was trivial now. She should have gone. The school wouldn't have called her father if she had made at least an effort, shown up and talked to someone. And it wasn't as if things were going to calm down soon. The youma weren’t showing any signs of slowing down; in fact, the threat of enemies had doubled, tripled, even quadrupled since she had first started fighting evil. They were seemingly everywhere. She’d had to skip school altogether some days because the threats had come so rapidly.

Admittedly, she and the Senshi were getting better and better at hiding the enemies from the public, especially the press. There were relatively few mentions of suspicious behaviors that directly related to youma attacks in the media and never on television anymore. That and there didn't seem to be one unified force behind these recent attacks, which was a bit of a relief. She didn't know how much more often she was expected to sacrifice herself for the continued life on Earth, but she was getting pretty tired of it.

She was grateful, if nothing else, that Luna and Artemis were the ones keeping a firm eye on the activity and reported back that these were isolated incidents. Ami had started keeping track of it on her computer but it was the two moon cats – who didn’t have to worry about school or human lives of their own – that intensely investigated these issues. Some such investigations included: the local, national, and international news, police investigations that pertained to such suspicious activities as supernatural occurrences, massive losses of energy and intense fatigue, and brainwashed victims who spoke of kingdoms that were not related to religious institutions or historical events (some such victims who claimed that Satan tried to control them or people who said they were the third emperor of feudal Japan tended to be insane and were thus ignored in Luna and Artemis’s investigations).

But despite all that was going on, Usagi couldn't ignore the little nagging guilt she felt that she was very physically involved but so often didn't have the attention span or interest in keeping track of or staying abreast of certain issues, even Senshi business that she really should have paid more attention to. They'd had a meeting after the Sailor Stars had left Earth in which they'd rallied and brainstormed ideas of being more proactive about protecting the Earth, instead of waiting passively by while powerful enemies got themselves into the perfect position and attacked without mercy. Usagi had been one of the loudest advocates of setting up some sort of warning system or training for the worst-case-scenario, but she had been the one to do the least about it. She should have conferred with Luna more often about her and Artemis's research. She should have paid more attention during her classes, especially when they talked about world events. She should have been studying more. But how could she, when she didn’t even have time to read manga anymore? She barely had time to sleep; this was such a problem that even when she was at school, without any recent danger, she was too exhausted to do anything but pass out on her desk.

“These are all excuses,” Usagi whispered softly to her reflection. She looked up from her arms and frowned. “I have to do better. I can’t let this get worse.”

Even as she said it, she despaired. She wanted to please her family, she wanted to better her education. Luna had long since stopped bothering her to study and so, without that pressure, Usagi had naturally grown to be curious about learning. Now that no one cared, she wanted to learn. It was annoyingly psychological and although Usagi knew no one would believe her, she couldn’t help wanting to do better. It was even more ironic that her seemingly limitless time had suddenly been reduced to nothing now that she actually wanted to do something productive. She didn't enjoy getting low scores and she didn't like that knowing indifference that everyone seemed to show in regards to her. She knew that even her close friends didn't think she was very smart and in a strange way, that hurt. They didn't rely on her for strategy and ideas, even though she was the leader, and sometimes she felt more like an object to be protected or an ultimate weapon to be wielded bluntly instead of a strategic leader who could offer victory without getting them all killed or maxed out first.

There wasn’t anything for it. She’d have to cut back on patrolling. Everyone would be furious with her, except for maybe Ami. Her grades had slipped a little as well because of all the fighting they had been doing but no one else’s grades had changed at all. Rei had always been blessed with an intelligence that rarely needed studying. Her school also had a mandatory study period in the middle of the day during which she firmly refused to leave early and patrol alone. Instead, she studied intensely during that time and kept up her grades. As for Makoto and Minako, their grades had never been all that wonderful to begin with and the grades they received had little to do with the amount of studying they did. Makoto lived alone and had no parents to disappoint with her marks, and Minako's mom nagged her whether her grades were good or not. Usagi and Ami seemed to be the only ones who cared about their grades, and Usagi worried quietly when Ami openly complained about her lack of study time.

Something beeped in her pocket, startling her a little. Usagi raised her head again and pulled her communicator out of her pocket. The small screen buzzed with static for a few seconds before Rei’s angry face showed up.

“Where the hell are you? We’ve been waiting for an hour! If you don’t get your lazy ass over here in two seconds then so help me, I’ll strangle you with your own pigtails!” she screamed. Usagi stared at her blankly and couldn’t even find the energy to get angry.

“I can’t leave. I’m grounded. My dad saw my grades and I’ve had my allowance cut for a month. Or two months. I don’t know, I don’t remember. He was yelling at me about a lot of stuff. I don’t think I’ll be able to go to today’s meeting. In fact, I don’t know if I’ll be able to go to any meetings…not for a while. I need to improve my grades.” There was silence for a long time as Rei’s enraged face slowly relaxed as she absorbed what Usagi had actually said.

“Wait, what happened? What the hell are you saying about your grades….” she trailed off for a second and then frowned. “You’ve screwed up badly enough that your own parents noticed? Jeez, you’re even dumber than I thought! Fine, don’t come to the meeting. Don’t come to any of them. I’ll just tell them you were too lazy to study and got in trouble with your parents.” She turned off her communicator and Usagi was left to stare at the static where her friend’s face had been.

Usagi knew that she sort of deserved that from Rei. After all, she hadn’t studied for many of the years that she’d known the Senshi, even when she'd had ample time to do so. In fact, she had never studied – now it was more a time constraint than a personal choice. Usagi was half-tempted to ask Setsuna to stop time every night so that she could study the necessary amount of hours for tests and exams, and then restart time so that she could go out patrolling with everyone else. She knew, of course, that this wasn’t an option. Time wasn’t something to be played with so liberally and Usagi especially knew the dangers of such meddling. But hell if she wasn’t tempted to ask, or even properly whine about it to someone who would most likely be sympathetic to her. Setsuna was one of the few people that Usagi knew who could listen through all of her whining and never look the slightest bit annoyed or impatient about it.

“Well, now I have plenty of time on my hands,” she mumbled softly to herself, remembering that despite how insulting it had been, Rei's comment had freed up Usagi's entire evening. She looked over at her bed where her school bag was resting innocently on the moon and star bedspread. Despite the yelling she'd just received and her own desire to do well, Usagi didn't want to get her bag, didn't want to wade through the numbers and formulas and theorems that only confused and frustrated her. But over the past few years, she'd also learned how to ignore her frustration and just dive headlong into the thing she was dreading. Hell, she'd walked barefoot over a road of thorns: this couldn't be that hard. She stood and picked up her school bag, staring at the shiny silver buckle with her smudged fingerprints on it and the leather binding for a minute or so. She wasn’t sure how she should feel about the whole situation. True, something like this recent dressing down from her parents was bound to happen sooner or later. There was no way she would have remained in school for very much longer with the steady decline of her grades and attendance. On the other hand, the consequences of her absence from the Senshi meetings would be widely felt, and not just by the Senshi.

She didn’t have an ego about her role as Sailor Moon. True, she kind of liked her importance in matters of Earth’s safety and patrolling as a Senshi was one of her obligations and joys, but she didn’t feel that the world would necessarily end without her there. It almost had a few times, but there were so many Senshi now, so many protectors. A lot of the time she was useless unless they came up against a foe who couldn't be beaten by anyone else. And since both Luna and Artemis seemed convinced that no such foe was anywhere in sight, that meant that the others should be able to handle this without her. Still, she was fearful of the future now that she wouldn’t be there to protect it personally.

Only in matters of dire consequence would she be able to get out of the house and save the world. This meant that the little dangers the Senshi had been fighting for the past two years, the little battles that had suffocated the eventual climax of a universe-threatening battle, wouldn’t be stopped. The other Senshi were powerful but they needed her strength to be everywhere at once. Their system only worked because there were five of them and she was the strongest. This meant that the system could eventually break down and the threats could get bigger and bigger. Her hope right then, limited and childish as it was, was that such a battle wouldn’t happen when she had her exams. And both Luna and Artemis would know about it before that happened anyway so...really. She had nothing to worry about.

Gritting her teeth, she opened her bag and pulled out her Algebra booklet, resolutely opening it to the necessary page for her homework. Carefully setting all of her pencils, erasers, extra paper, textbook, and other materials around her desk, she began to study for next week’s test, telling herself all the while that she didn't have to worry about anything else.

...

Katherine couldn’t remember being more excited about the future of a project. It had been eight months since the initial discovery of the “Lunar Ruins” as NASA had come to refer to the enormous civilization she and her team had found. Mysterious funding had cropped up out of nowhere with their discovery and teams scrambled to build and prepare for the upcoming avalanche of research that would take them to an entire new level of discovery. Five shuttles had been launched the month after they had reported back to headquarters, all of notably larger sizes, to gather and study as much of the artifacts as they could. Katherine was half-breathless just thinking about how there was too much for even five shuttles to get back to Earth. There was too much. There was too much of everything that she wasn’t sure fifty shuttles could bring it all back.

When her team initially reported back and sent the photographs they’d taken through their connection, headquarters had been speechless for at least thirty seconds. They couldn’t believe it until Michael and Josh had lifted the painting, the very first artifact they’d found, up for headquarters to see for themselves. It was the largest thing they had been able to take back with them.

Everything else had been much smaller: pieces of crystal with what appeared to be writing inscribed carefully into them, a hairbrush, a chipped plate, and samples of the ground around the various structures. Josh had lamented that they couldn’t bring an entire body back with them but the pictures spoke louder than words in this respect. They were ordered to bring back as much as was safe for them to carry back to Earth (even then they had smudged the rules a little and brought a few extra pounds of precious cargo).

Michael couldn’t even come up with jokes when they got back to headquarters and spent some time readjusting to Earth’s gravity and atmosphere. None of them could stop talking about what they’d seen. Military officers had taken them immediately into quarantine, checking them out and debriefing them at length about precisely what movements they'd made, what they'd seen, what to expect when the other teams arrived. Katherine's superiors constantly came into the quarantine rooms to question the group about everything they had seen. Once the cargo had been examined, there was no doubt that the astronauts had really seen the ruins and that they were not, in fact, hallucinating the whole thing.

“Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan,” a voice said from behind her. Katherine turned to the voice and straightened her back, saluting. Major George Walters saluted back and gave her a thin smile. “I’ve just had the grand tour. These artifacts are astounding.” Katherine smiled in return.

Major Walters was a tall man with large, square shoulders to match his square, perfectly shaven jaw. He was always the military’s commanding officer in matters of NASA, specifically the budget. It only made sense that he would be here representing the armed forces in such a huge discovery.

“Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined finding something like this,” she said as she fell into step with Major Walters and began the long trek back in the direction of the artifacts.

Everything they had brought back was given its own examining table where a circle of scientists would crowd around and take precise measurements and test everything they could think of. The discoveries were in their earliest stages but even now proved staggering. All kinds of experts had been yanked out of their usual, humdrum lives and were now part of the ongoing exploration of this most secret and wonderful civilization – a civilization that was rapidly showing signs of being far more sophisticated and technologically advanced than anything human beings could ever imagine.

“I saw the body you were able to bring back,” Major Walters said. “Amazing condition. No one was able to tell me what it’s encased in, or even how old it is.”

“It’s all still very preliminary. We’ve been studying everything all at once, but we still have no real idea what we’re looking at. The bodies, as you’ve mentioned, appear to be encased in a substance not found on Earth. We have attempted to scratch this material with diamonds or chip pieces off with a laser, but we haven’t been able to do a single thing to them. We don’t actually know how to destroy or break it and we’re not ready to try anything truly destructive for fear of damaging the whole structure.”

“That’s some interesting research. We could all benefit from it,” he said. Katherine smiled politely, thinking about how much the military would love to get its hands on a crystal-like material that was indestructible enough to withstand something as powerful as a laser.

“There are other interesting things to note from a more anthropological point of view,” she said as she flashed her security badge at a guard. They waved her and Major Walters through the security checkpoint, the door hissing shut behind them. “Although we haven’t been able to study the body directly, we have taken measurements of height and X-rayed the frame. When we discovered that we could use X-rays, we went on to try some other scans, any kind we could think of. The discoveries are mind-boggling.”

“What kind of discoveries?” Major Walters asked with interest.

“I mean that the body is surprisingly similar in both appearance, structure, and mental capacity to a human being. The body we found in particular is taller than an average human, most surprisingly because we believe she is a woman based on simply looking at her. Scientists have estimated that she’s about seven and a half feet tall. From the bodies that we saw, this was more the exception than the rule; the other bodies we found were closer to human size, meaning in the range of five to six and a half feet tall. Those were just personal observations though. When the other shuttles arrive, we’ll have plenty more to compare it to.”

“So why did your team pick up this body, if it’s so different from the other bodies you discovered? Wouldn’t it have been better to pick a more generic one?” Kathy smiled at his question.

“Actually, we knew that there would be others who would follow us that could pick up more of the artifacts than we could. We chose the most astonishing specimen in order to show just how amazing it was.”

They had stopped walking and stood in front of the body they had been talking about. Instead of a table, the giant crystal-like structure needed no such prop, sitting on a plate of steel to keep the indestructible crystal from scratching the floor. The crystal itself was tall enough that observing the figure inside was easy. Major Walters only had to stoop a little to look at the woman who appeared to be sleeping.

“Amazing,” he whispered. Katherine felt the same, looking at her.

She was indeed very tall and the long, gentle-looking folds of her dress made her appear all the taller and more delicate. Her long silver hair was tied in two buns on the top of her head and the tresses left over rested against the sides of her arms. The other researchers had likened her to Snow White, sleeping in a glass coffin. The whole project felt like a fairy tale, and the nickname felt appropriate, despite their “cynical scientific backgrounds.”

“Simply amazing,” Major Walters repeated reverently.

“Wouldn’t you, after seeing her like this on the moon, have brought her back first too?” Katherine heard herself ask. Major Walters didn’t say anything but he nodded. They continued walking around the area, looking at the strange but beautiful pieces of a lost civilization. Their eyes continuously trailed back to the woman in her crystal coffin. If she had been found on Earth, she would have been no less mysterious.

In fifteen hours and twenty-six minutes, Katherine would be paged by headquarters and asked to come in for an emergency meeting. There, she would find out that the astronauts of one of the five cargo shuttles, the ones from the United Kingdom, would uncover something even more amazing than what had already been discovered. Under a fallen pillar there had been the pieces of a fountain, two little bodies would be found that were not encased in the strange crystal material. The bodies were not human.

They were the bodies of what appeared at first glance to be two cats with an identical symbol of the crescent moon on their foreheads – a symbol that had been found also on the forehead of the woman’s body already on Earth. Most amazingly of all, when the astronauts returned to their shuttle with the bodies of the two cats, they were astonished to discover that the cats were still alive. And they could talk.

...

Mamoru Chiba hadn’t gone shopping by himself in a long time. He hadn’t gone much of anywhere by himself, come to think of it. Normally, Usagi stuck to him like a piece of gum and wanted to go everywhere he went, most especially shopping. She liked to suggest all kinds of things for him to wear, although he didn’t normally buy whatever took her fancy. Still, the look of happiness on her face just imagining him wearing a leather jacket for example, or a silk shirt that “matched his eyes,” he couldn’t help but enjoy himself just a little more. It was odd doing this now without her there. But he needed new running shoes so that he could stay in shape. The Senshi could get away with eating anything they wanted and still being battle-ready: mere mortals such as himself needed a bit more endurance training to stay in top shape.

When he got home and put his packages away, he almost didn't hear his telephone ringing over the sizzle of dinner cooking. His usual greeting was answered with silence for a moment, and then a soft murmured hello from Usagi. Unusual, considering that she was always so upbeat and cheerful, especially when on the phone with him. She sounded disturbingly calm. He knew that voice, so full of despair that she couldn’t even gather enough emotion to cry.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to see you. Not for a while,” she’d started. He frowned and stopped stirring his pot of curry and put the phone into his hand instead of the crook of his shoulder.

“What are you talking about, Usako? Is something wrong?” He heard her take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“My dad saw my grades and he’s really, really mad at me. I haven’t spoken to him but I heard my parents arguing about you. Dad wants me to stop seeing you but Mom convinced him to leave it alone. I know that if I bring it up, he’ll get even madder at me and I don’t want to think what he’ll do to separate us. I’m not even going to be able to patrol for a few months, at least until I get my grades up a lot more, and I won’t be hanging out with the girls except during school. Otherwise, I’m going to be shut up in my room, school, or the library so I can study. I wanted to talk to you about it because I won’t be able to see you as often.”

Mamoru frowned and waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, instead breathing softly enough that he could barely hear her anymore, Mamoru realized she was waiting for him to respond. He thought about what she had said for a moment before answering. She sounded calm but he knew she was crying even then. It was killing her to do this but it seemed she really had no choice in the matter.

“Where will you study? Which library?” he said.

“I….” Usagi may have been expecting a lot of other possible responses, but this question surprised her. “Um, there’s a library on my way home from school. Daddy says I can go there since it’s on my way home and not anywhere near the arcade or Rei’s house. Why?” She sounded genuinely curious. He had to smile at her naiveté. Hadn’t she figured out what he was planning? Then again, she rarely anticipated his plans when he was being cunning.

“I have my own exams. If you want, we can study next to each other,” he said. Usagi hesitated before answering.

“I don’t know if I can-,” Usagi said.

“Usako, it’s okay,” he said gently. When she didn’t immediately relent, he continued. “I promise we won’t try to do anything but study. We can still be with each other and improve your grades at the same time, right? And it might help you if I’m there or if Ami is there so we can tutor you, if you need it. Your dad can rest assured that you’ll be studying. He just doesn’t need to know that I’ll be the one helping you.”

Part of him felt a little guilty for offering up this particular solution so quickly. He loved Usagi, but he usually stayed out of fights she had with her family, especially if they over touched on Mamoru's relationship with her. Usagi's father seemed to be looking for any excuse to separate them and Mamoru didn't want to be the one to give it to him. But this seemed to be one of those situations where he might get his way by keeping them apart for a long time, somehow blaming Mamoru for something that they both knew Usagi needed to pay more attention to. She probably shouldn't have called him, it was an excuse not to be studying, Mamoru already knew how she was. The hurt sound of her voice, however, only made him want to soothe her and fix the problem. He knew that his presence alone would distract her from studying (it always had in the past), but he also knew that he was being just a little selfish. Being away from Usagi for a little while was one thing, but listening to her break her own heart to do what she needed to do, not what she wanted to do, hurt him more than he could say. If this was the only way to soothe her, than so be it. He could be firm with her and make sure that all she did was study.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line and Mamoru could hear her quiet breathing as she thought about it. Finally, she said “Okay, I think we can do that. But we can’t be distracted.” That was different. Normally she would have been overjoyed and suggested all sorts of other things they could do, like have lunch before meeting to study, and maybe go to a fair afterwards as a "reward" for working so hard. But she didn't do that at all. It must have been some fight.

“No distractions. Promise,” he said firmly. “Usako, don’t worry about it. We’ll get through this, okay? I promise we’ll be okay.” He could picture her cradling the phone to her ear, huddled a little bit. That hurt his heart too, that she wasn't making plans to distract herself. Usagi let out a small, shaky laugh that crackled a bit over the phone.

“Okay….” she said. “I feel better. Thank you. I just…I feel trapped. I’ve seen how strained the Senshi are, trying to patrol and do everything without me. I want to help them; I want to be out there fighting with them. But I can’t and it hurts me to see them having to fight when I could be out there making it easier.” Mamoru frowned a bit, taking the pot off the stove. His attention had been wandering and he was a bit worried about burning it.

“They can’t blame you for this. I know how hard you’ve been working at night to keep the Earth safe. There wasn’t any time for you to do much of anything else,” Mamoru said.

“But I was the only one who got in trouble. Your grades are still high at the university and Ami’s grades have been perfect no matter how long we patrol, which has always been true for her. Rei and the others manage to keep about the same effort but here I am, miserably failing everything.” Her voice was strangled and high-pitched now, no longer emotionless and cold. It broke Mamoru's heart to hear her like this. No blame, no quick excuses, just this misery that was so unlike her. “How can I be doing so much worse than all of you?”

“Because you’ve been the one working the hardest,” he said firmly. “Remember when Luna did those tests on your blood to see why you were falling asleep more and more often? It isn’t your fault, Usako. She apologized, remember? She apologized for always getting mad at you for it.” The kind of energy that Usagi emitted came directly from her body: the other Senshi drew their energy from their planets, not like Usagi who seemed to deliver it from her own self. A hard night fighting a youma drained her a bit if she wasn't careful.

“But that doesn’t change things,” Usagi said quickly. “I still wasn’t working as hard as I could have. I should have been able to work around it.” That...that was also so unlike her, to take responsibility for something like that. She was always quick to take the blame for something Senshi-related, but Mamoru couldn't remember her ever admitting that she could have studied harder. It made him want to help her even more.

“How can you control how tired you become after fighting youma every night when your body takes the most strain?” Mamoru countered. “Your abilities are the most powerful and you use them regularly. It drains you. You know this already. It’s only natural that it would affect you the most, seeing how more fighting would make you more tired.” He sounded calm but on the inside he was panicking. He could never keep it together when Usagi cried because of something he said. God, he hoped she didn’t cry.

“I know that but… still,” Usagi said with a shuddering breath. God, she was crying. He felt like a cad, even on the other side of the phone. “I’m the leader and I should be able to handle the pressure. How am I supposed to rule Crystal Tokyo in the 30th century if I can’t even keep up with my normal, human life? I imagine being queen will involve using even more energy daily and needing to do all kinds of other things with people. I just… I feel like I’m failing.”

“You’re not failing, love,” he soothed. His fingers itched to touch her face and wipe away the tears. He clenched them to ignore the urge. “You’re still just a girl, just like we’re all still young. We aren’t king and queen yet and our human problems are still problems, no matter how important we become when we’re older. Take it all one step at a time and we’ll get through this. Trying to fix all the problems before they even happen will only make it harder.”

“I guess you’re right. I just can’t help it. Rei was really… mean about the whole thing,” she said with a sigh.

“She doesn’t have a right to be,” Mamoru said firmly. “You told me that she has a mandatory study session in her school and she doesn’t go out patrolling like you and the other girls do during that time. You do several more hours of patrolling than any of them and it’s only right they let you take a break to get your life back in order. If they give you any more trouble, let me know and I’ll talk to them.”

“I still have no idea what Luna will say to me,” Usagi said, her voice a little more calm and even. Mamoru had to smile knowing that he’d helped her feel better, even just a little bit.

“Luna and Artemis have seen how hard you’ve been working and they’ll understand, though they probably won’t like it. Don’t worry for now. Just concentrate on getting those grades up and earning your dad’s respect again.”

“Okay.” There was a pause for a moment and then Usagi’s small voice suddenly said, “I love you, Mamo-chan.” He grinned, feeling that familiar rush of warmth from his fingers down to the tips of his toes.

“I love you too, Usako,” he said, smiling into the phone. He laughed, “Don’t worry, everything will work out. At least nothing worse than grades has come along."


	3. The First Domino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He ran through a tight corridor, desperate to find her.
> 
> He yelled out a name, but he couldn’t hear it. Color leeched from his sight, taste and smell gone, only a pooled sense of dread and fatigue pulled down his body.
> 
> He couldn’t hear anything at all. He should have heard something. He knew this because there were explosions going on very close by, bits of rubble flying past him, nearly hitting him. People with their mouths moving rushed past him, tables overturned, vases and portraits shattered on the ground.
> 
> A dead end loomed ominously up ahead but he ignored it, turning directly into the danger to his left.
> 
> He knew where he was going somehow, although he could not remember the name of this place.

He ran through a tight corridor, desperate to find her.

He yelled out a name, but he couldn’t hear it. Color leeched from his sight, taste and smell gone, only a pooled sense of dread and fatigue pulled down his body.

He couldn’t hear anything at all. He should have heard something. He knew this because there were explosions going on very close by, bits of rubble flying past him, nearly hitting him. People with their mouths moving rushed past him, tables overturned, vases and portraits shattered on the ground.

A dead end loomed ominously up ahead but he ignored it, turning directly into the danger to his left.

He knew where he was going somehow, although he could not remember the name of this place. All at once little bits of color came into view, the tongue of a flame, the husky smoke of ruin. The air tasted strange, like candied smoke and grass after a hard rain. He felt waves of heat on his skin, coating his heavy clothes and making him sweat.

He felt a growing sense of panic as he ran, impending doom choking his air even as the smoke grew thicker. There were paintings on the wall that he recognized but didn’t stop to look at. He knew what those paintings were – had seen them for years.

People ran in the opposite direction, most wearing armor that flashed and gave him a sense of déjà vu. He did not look at them twice, so intent was he on running. Still others ran past him in party attire – gowns of spun gold, tuxedos and capes, petticoats flaring around legs clad in stocking, all wearing the same terrified expression. All of them ignored him as they ran for their lives from whatever he was running towards.

As he vaulted the ledge of a broken wall, he sighed in relief.

There, he could see her now.

Her back to him, long blonde hair tied out of her way. She held her arms outstretched towards the sky and surrounded herself in a pillar of light, like a goddess. He couldn’t see her face but he knew the words she spoke, although he heard nothing.

He called out to her, familiar with her, knowing her more than he knew himself.

He ran towards her golden light.

He called out to her again. She didn’t turn around.

Three other women descended into her golden light. Her face twisted in their direction, frustration and anger shaking her body. They screamed at each other, these four women, hysterically pointing to the sky, to the burning castle, to each other. None pointed to him. The golden woman turned back to the sky, grim determination outlining her poised body.

He couldn’t understand what she stared at until he looked up himself, mesmerized by the monstrosity the sky had become.

There were no stars or light, only shadow. Shadow was not the proper term for what he saw, it was too small a word for what lay before him. It was a shadow so dark that it made the light around everything seem gray and fading, depressed, conquered. He gasped at the fear that choked him.

He could barely keep running towards the girl but he pushed himself onward. Endlessly he ran, endlessly loomed the shadow before him.

He started noticing little details he hadn’t seen before. Each girl wore a similar but strange outfit and spoke in rapid succession, although he heard nothing.

The golden woman spoke rapidly, authoritatively, but no one looked at her. His heart burned that he could not hear her. He burned that they could not hear her either.

No matter how fast he ran, how hard he pushed himself, they were too far.

The women lifted their hands to the sky and light ballooned from their fingertips. That impenetrable light struck the sky, sending lightening bolts jaggedly over clouds, striking everything. He held his breath even as he ran, hope burning in his heart. Had they destroyed the monster?

His eyes widened in horror when the creature remained, laughing at their futile attempts to defeat it. He was already too late, had always been too late. It was written in the stars, it was his destiny always to be too late. 

The sky pressed down on his head, on his shoulders, stiffening his limbs. He was no longer running. He stood frozen and watched; his hand rose on its own, as if this might somehow stop what was to come.

A blast of energy so powerful, so consuming that it blinded him, streaked from the monster’s hand.

It crushed the four women without mercy. He could not look away.

The sound that had been so muted moments before came back full force, as if someone had suddenly turned up a stereo to its highest capacity. Their screams filled the world as their bodies split apart before his very eyes.

...

“Adonis! Adonis, wake up! Adonis!!” a voice broke through the screaming in his head.

With a start, he jerked upright with his eyes wide open. Looking around, he realized that it was his own screaming that had filled the world. Taking in deep gulps of air, Adonis groaned and buried his face in his hands, trembling uncontrollably. The shock of his dream was still real, still gripping. The shadow in the sky still grinned at him and laughed at his useless attempts to stop what was inevitable. And the women’s’ screams chilled him again, as they had every night for the past two years.

“I can’t understand why you always have that same nightmare every night,” whispered the person beside him. He turned his head weakly, opened his eyes to drink her in. His wife – his wife – wrapped her long arms around his shoulders, staring into his eyes. “I have some water for you. Can you talk?”

Adonis stared at her for a few seconds and then opened his mouth. A croak escaped his lips but nothing else so he shook his head. “I thought so. Here’s some water,” she said. She reached across the bed to her nightstand and gave him a glass of lukewarm water. He gratefully drank it, feeling better at the first drop. The dream was still raw in his mind but the bite of it faded.

“Did Dr. Keller say anything the last time you saw him? I thought you two might have resolved whatever was bothering you the last time you had a session with him,” the woman said. Adonis shook his head, thinking back to his last session with his shrink.

Dr. Keller was one of the best psychiatrists in Washington D.C. and widely known throughout the United States. He and Adonis had been talking about The Dream ever since they’d met two years ago, but it seemed to do no good. No matter what therapy or medication they used, he always had the same dream every night at the same time. The golden woman was always there, the monster was always there, and his own screams always woke him.

“I almost saw her this time. I almost saw all of them… I was so close,” Adonis croaked. He handed his wife the empty glass and leaned back against the pillows. He rubbed his forehead and looked at her, taking in the details of her face. Her warm brown eyes looked worried as she watched him, her mouth set into the perfect pout. Her blonde hair had frizzed around her head and the blanket had fallen away to reveal her naked body. He’d thought maybe tonight he wouldn’t have the dream. He thought maybe tonight, he and his wife could properly enjoy their five-year anniversary. He thought the wine would do it. Or the sex… or something just as merciful. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked out like he’d hoped.

“I wish we could make it stop,” Monica said softly. Now that the dream was fading, he remembered that her name was Monica. Monica, Monica, Monica, he reminded himself. Why is it that I forget you? I remember everything in the dream. I know exactly who the golden woman is, I know where I am… I even know what the shadow is. But why do I forget your face when you are the only thing that’s real?

She rested her temple against his shoulder and sighed. “I hate to see you go through this every time… Isn’t there another sleeping pill you can try? This can’t keep happening every night.”

“I know, baby. I’m sorry. I can’t help what I see,” Adonis sighed and ran a hand through his already-ruffled hair. “I just wish I knew a way to understand what it is I’m seeing. Dr. Keller keeps thinking it’s a symbolic representation of a traumatic experience I had as a child, but… well, he’s a shrink. He’s supposed to think I’m repressed or that I have something wrong with me that had to do with my mother or… something else equally Freudian. But there’s really nothing. My parents were great with me; you know that. And Greece was a wonderful place to grow up. Nothing even remotely like this dream ever happened to me.”

“Maybe it’s something you can’t remember? Maybe you were lost when you were little and you just don’t remember it?” Monica said, winding up for their usual exchange of possibilities. They always suggested the same thing, always speculated what could have caused the dreams. It didn’t help.

“You know that isn’t true,” he said, as he always did. “We called them. We talked to them. Nothing like that ever happened.”

“I know… I just… you know, there has to be some reason you see the things you do,” she said.

“I don’t know,” Adonis said. “I just… I don’t know. Dr. Keller’s been coming up with more desperate solutions by the day. He even suggested hypnosis the last time I saw him. He said he’d heard of a technique, something about past life regression therapy.”

“Did you agree?” Monica asked, obviously suppressing her own doubts. Monica had always been a devout Atheist so the fact that she hadn’t laughed at the suggestion just showed how desperate she was getting.

“I told him I’d stop coming if he suggested it again,” Adonis said slowly. “But then he showed me some literature and… I don’t know. Nothing else has worked. Maybe it’s something I should try, if only to say I tried everything we could think of.”

“It might help,” Monica, who thought it was all in his head anyway, said. She was trying not to be judgmental, trying not to crack a joke, and it just endeared her to him more. He leaned into her and kissed her, showing her how much he appreciated her cooperation.

“Maybe I just need a sign,” Adonis said, his lip twisting into a mirthless smile.

The phone on his nightstand rang, shrill and demanding. Adonis jumped and, conscious of the thin walls of their apartment, quickly reached for the receiver and put it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Is this Professor Adonis Narcissus?” a firm, feminine voice demanded. Adonis glanced at the alarm clock by the phone and frowned. Who would be calling him at four in the morning?

“Yes, this is Dr. Narcissus. If this is a student, please call during business hours. This is grossly inappropriate.”

“I am not a student,” the mystery person said, her voice clipped and professional.

“Then may I ask why you’re calling me so earlier, Miss…?” he started.

“Have you been briefed at all on the recent NASA expeditions to the moon?” Adonis frowned at the phone again before answering.

“I… if you mean have I kept up with the news, then yes. I’ve been watching the reports on television but I’m afraid the reporters haven’t been very helpful in-,” he started.

“Would you be interested a special research assignment with NASA?” the woman cut in.

“I… what? What are you talking about? Who is this?” Adonis said.

“NASA requires linguistic professors and experts to translate certain artifacts that were discovered during the initial search. Are you interested in a job?” the woman said.

“I… um… I have a job at the University of Maryland in the Linguistics Department,” Adonis said, his eyes widening.

“I am aware of this. I have called several of your colleagues and I have been assured that you are the best in your field. Once again, are you interested in a position with NASA?” she said.

“You’ve called the university?” Adonis said, trying to wrap his mind around this. He felt a little annoyed that this strange woman seemed to be talking about him behind his back. Worse, that she had asked around and none of his colleagues had mentioned it. Not to mention her constant cutting him off was aggravating.

“Yes,” she said simply.

Adonis frowned at Monica, who only shrugged. He thought about turning the strange woman down on the basis that she was very rude for calling at four in the morning, never mind that he was wide awake, and the fact that she was being so cryptic about the whole thing… but a nagging curiosity made him say: “Is there any way I could meet with you before I decide anything? I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking me.”

“There is a car waiting for you outside of your home. Please be down in seven minutes with your personal belongings. Security will check your baggage so please refrain from bringing anything that may be construed as a weapon.” The phone went dead in his ear. Adonis didn’t move for a few seconds and then slowly hung up the phone.

“That was weird…” he said as he stood and began to dress.

“Who was that? Where are you going?” Monica demanded, sitting up. Adonis looked at her as he pulled his pants on and reached for his socks.

“That was a woman who worked for NASA… I think. She wants me to get a job there doing something with the moon expeditions. Or something. I don’t know, she wasn’t terribly forthcoming with information. I’m going to check it out. Supposedly there’s a car waiting for me outside,” he said as he grabbed his overnight knapsack and put some folded shirts and khaki pants in, remembering to grab his toiletries from the bathroom.

“What?” Monica frowned and walked towards the window, pulling the bed sheets around her as she waddled. Peaking through the curtains, she made a sound and looked back at him fearfully. “There’s a car parked in the emergency fire lane! I don’t like this… can’t you wait until morning?”

“Can’t, I’m too awake to go back to bed,” Adonis said as he came up behind Monica and kissed her neck. She made a mewling sound and tried to grab his arm but he was back at the closet fishing for a tie. She pouted at him as he got dressed, tempting him to stay home to no avail. He didn’t want to tell her that the real reason he was going was because the curiosity was killing him. Why did he suddenly feel apprehensive, like in his dream? Was this maybe a sign, like he’d joked before?

He scowled at himself even as he thought it. Since when had he become so ridiculously superstitious? Honestly… what had gotten into him? It was just a meeting. He might not even get the job! They must have been desperate to call him in. Despite all of his muttering and mental protesting, he was still in the car in five minutes.

...

Usagi took a deep, relieved breath as she and Ami looked at the notice boards for their scores. Makoto whistled softly as she came up beside Usagi, one hand on her hip. “Now that isn’t something you see every day,” she said appreciatively. Usagi felt her face burn with a blush.

“I had to. My dad would never have let me get anything else,” she said softly.

“Usagi, you don’t have to apologize,” Ami said with a slightly shocked expression on her face. The shock slowly turned into pride as she turned to smile at her friend. “You did a great job! You should never apologize for doing well!”

It was true. There, in beautiful calligraphy, was “Mizuno, Ami” with a perfect score and, directly underneath her name, was “Tsukino, Usagi” with a nearly perfect mark. It had never happened to Usagi before, to score so well on her exams. The pride that swelled in her chest was different from anything she’d ever experienced before – better than achieving some physical activity, slaying a youma… nothing quite compared to this. She had done this all by herself, without any help from anyone. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She couldn’t have done it without Mamoru sitting next to her all those hours in her local library, getting her lunch so that she didn’t have to stop studying.

In fact, she had to thank Ami too, because if she hadn’t had Ami’s notes to study from, she would never have understood half of her own notes. And to add on, she couldn’t have really done it without Makoto making those cookies for her when she’d broken down at her house… and when Minako had forced her to stop for just that one night so they could go out and have fun, lessen the stress. And she had to thank even Rei for saying, grudgingly, that she believed in her and knew that she could do it if she set her mind to it – and promising to keep the youma out of her way until she could finish her exams. Better yet, she had to thank Rei for fulfilling her promise of fighting the youma so Usagi could study, even though she had to skip class and got a detention.

In reality, Usagi had received a lot of help. She felt even prouder because of it, knowing that her friends would always stand with her, both in a fight and in such boring, every day things like studying for upcoming exams. They had physically protected her for so many years, but somehow this little support, this small demonstration of their love for her in a situation that wasn’t really a crisis, made her see all the more how lucky she was to have them.

Usagi suddenly hugged both Makoto and Ami, trying unsuccessfully to stop her tears of gratitude and happiness. Ami blinked at her and smiled, hugging her tightly. Makoto grinned and ruffled the top of her head, stooping a little. Minako, not one to miss a hug, threw herself at their backs and hugged them, smiling widely.

“We’re proud of you, Usagi,” Minako said. “Now that you’ve done so well, maybe you can talk your dad into letting you go out a little more and at least hanging out with us again.”

“Don’t rush her,” Ami chastised gently. “Do what you have to do and we’ll follow. Just remember that we’re always going to be here for you.”

“Thank you,” Usagi whispered. “Thank you all. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys.”

“You still did it yourself, you know,” Makoto said, grinning from ear to ear. “I mean, we helped a little but you did it yourself. Guess you’re not as dumb as everyone thinks.” She winked.

“I guess!” Usagi said happily. It was nice to know that people couldn’t call her dumb anymore, not really. She’d proven she wasn’t an idiot. It was a wonderful feeling. “I should get home and tell my parents. They’ll be so happy to hear how well I did!” That was another thing buoying her happy mood. In order to study, she needed to sleep. This had led to her getting up just early enough to be on time to school. That meant no more detention! What was she going to do with the whole day? It felt like she had an abundance of time. It left her giddy and restless.

“We’ll talk to you later,” Makoto said as she let Usagi go. “Just remember to call us afterward, okay?”

“Of course. Thanks again guys,” Usagi said as she waved to her friends and jogged through the school gates. Her pace slowed as her friends fell out of sight and she spun in a circle before continuing. She didn’t really need to hurry but she was just so excited to see the expression on her dad’s face when she told him she’d gotten the second highest marks after Ami herself! She was so excited, in fact, that she only heard her name called around the fifth time. Looking around, she grinned when she noticed a red sports car parked just around the corner, a tall, dark-haired man smiling at her.

She ran and tackled him. He caught her and laughed, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “How’d it go?” He asked. though the way his eyes danced suggested that he already knew just how well she’d done.

“I got the second highest marks after Ami!” she said, unable to contain her own pride. His eyes widened a little and then he laughed.

“That’s wonderful! I knew you could do it if you tried,” he leaned down and gently kissed her, smiling as he pulled back. She made protesting sounds as he pulled away. “Need a ride home to tell your parents?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the university? I hope you didn’t skip class just to come see me,” Usagi said, although part of her was secretly hoping he had skipped class, because it meant that she was more important than his marks. She already knew that she did matter more, but it was always welcome to see that love.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get in; I have a gift for you,” Mamoru said. Usagi quickly ducked to look into his car and, true enough, there was a small pink box waiting for her with a red rose. She smiled when he opened the door for her and she slid into the passenger seat, carefully taking her gifts into her lap. She opened it as Mamoru went around and took the driver’s seat. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Mamoru… it’s… so…” she whispered.

“It’s a rose quartz. I wanted to give you something for all the hard work you did and… well, this jumped out to me when I was looking for a gift. I hope you like it,” he said, shyly looking at the steering wheel.

“I love you! I… thank you!” Usagi could barely keep tears from welling in her eyes at his thoughtfulness. She threw herself into his arms and kissed him over and over, choking on her laughter.

Mamoru grinned and carefully put her back in her seat, petting her hair to calm her. He took the box from her hand and slipped the silver necklace carefully around her neck so that the heart-shaped pendant hung around her neck. He stared at the little stone and gently touched it, grinning. Usagi smiled and gently petted the stone over his fingers. Mamoru leaned towards her and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. Then he turned to the steering wheel and put the car in drive, heading towards her house. Usagi noted with a pleased little happiness that Mamoru looked flushed and a little scruffier than usual.

“I’d like to take you to dinner too, if your father’s okay with it,” he said without looking away from the road. Usagi gawked.

“You’ve planned all these things for me, just because I did well in my exams?” she asked, restraining herself so she wouldn’t jump him again while he was driving. If she’d known Mamoru would get this romantic over such a stupid thing as her grades, she would have tried harder years ago!

“Not just for that,” Mamoru said, glancing briefly at her. “It’s been a while since we’ve gone on a date and I know you’ve been working hard. I just want to treat you to something special.” Usagi felt her heart melt and this time a few tears escaped. She wiped her eyes and laughed.

The rest of the drive passed in companionable murmuring with both making small talk about unimportant things. Usagi continued to finger her new necklace until Mamoru’s car slowed to a stop a block from her house. Leaning over to kiss his cheek, Usagi grinned and stepped out of the car. Mamoru grinned from inside and waved to her.

“Let me know what he says, okay? I really want to take you out,” he said. Usagi nodded and waved as he drove away, waving back at her. Usagi grinned and sashayed down the driveway and into her house, immediately relaxing. Her house smelled, as always, of her favorite foods and laundry detergent. Just as she was about to call out a greeting, her father dashed by her and grabbed his coat on his way out.

“What’s going on?” Usagi had just enough time to say as her father pecked her on the forehead and left. Usagi’s mother came down the stairs after him and sighed. “What’s going on?” Usagi repeated, frowning.

“He got a call from the office,” she said. “The Americans have made some sort of scientific discovery on Mars or something and Japan was involved in some of it. He’s been selected to take photographs of some politicians tonight. He’s excited because his editor said he might get to cover the story in America, too. He didn’t even eat before he left,” she shook her head at her husband’s behavior.

“Oh… that’s cool. I had no idea Daddy was moving up in the newspaper,” Usagi said, brightening a little. “I hope he gets the job!”

“Me too,” Usagi’s mother said, smiling at her. “Is there something you need, dear?”

“Huh? Oh no, I’m just going upstairs for a while. I’ll be down in a few minutes,” Usagi said, a smile lighting up her face. As she climbed the stairs to her room, she couldn’t help smiling at how well everything was turning out in her life. Her grades were improving, her friends were supporting her, Mamoru was romancing the socks off her, and even her father was moving up in his job!

“Who was that who dropped you off?” her mother asked in a teasing voice. Usagi stopped on the stairs and leaned over the railing with a huge grin on her face.

“Mamo-chan came to congratulate me for doing well on my exams. I’ll tell you all about it after I change. But he wants to take me on a special date, is that okay?” she asked.

“If you did well on your exams, then of course it’s okay. We’ll just conveniently forget to tell your father,” Ikuko said with a conspiratorial wink. Both giggled as Usagi ran the rest of the way up the stairs and shouted a greeting to her brother before ducking into her room. Luna looked up when she came in and shook herself, purring softly.

“If you want to hear how I did, go downstairs,” Usagi told her as she struggled out of her uniform. “You won’t believe what I got on my exams!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still a little bit of stage-setting to go before all the fun starts. I'm excited to get into the later chapters!


	4. The Tangled Threads of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The soft whir of the A/C unit and the soft hum of the machine next to her meant Setsuna would not have looked up at all if not for Yasuke closing the door a little harder than usual. When she did look up, the smell of take out assaulted her senses and she took a deep, hungry breath. She hadn’t realized she was hungry until this point. She stretched, feeling the crick in her neck and the pop of her spine. She must have been sitting there for much longer than she’d thought.

The soft whir of the A/C unit and the soft hum of the machine next to her meant Setsuna would not have looked up at all if not for Yasuke closing the door a little harder than usual. When she did look up, the smell of take out assaulted her senses and she took a deep, hungry breath. She hadn’t realized she was hungry until this point. She stretched, feeling the crick in her neck and the pop of her spine. She must have been sitting there for much longer than she’d thought.

Yasuke walked towards her, turned off her microscope, and placed one of the delicious-smelling bags right into her lap. “You need to take a break,” he said firmly. “You have been working fourteen hours straight. I should know, I’ve timed you.” He lifted his watch to demonstrate.

Setsuna blinked and rubbed her eyes, wondering where the time had gone. This made her smile a little, thinking of the irony of her thoughts. She stuck her hand in the bag and pulled out an indecipherable piece of food and ate it without looking at it. Yasuke watched her, lifting an eyebrow at the mechanical way she ate.

He’d grown accustomed to her strange devotion to their work, her slightly manic way of studying things that normally made people her age nod off. But there she was, calculating her next project without seeing anything around her. It was enough to make Yasuke wish he were a few years younger and a few degrees braver, just to ask her on a date.

The thought made him uncomfortable. He was a noteworthy number of years older than her and he worried sometimes that other people suspected something inappropriate in their friendship.

No one should have worried though. He’d known Setsuna for about six months and he liked her well enough, and she was certainly beautiful enough for any man to want her, but her mind was always on work. He imagined dating her would be like dating a very lovely robot.

No, he told himself, I want to ask her out just to see what she would do. He had the mind of a scientist and even in this, his coworker’s personal life, he wanted to experiment to see if she really was human. The single-mindedness of her devotion to work was staggering sometimes and Yasuke wondered if maybe he should start forcing her to take vacations. It just wasn’t normally.

Didn’t she have friends? Didn’t she have at least one man out there that looked past her brains and wanted her just for her looks? Not him, he was quick to point out. He was far too old for her. And even if he were her age, he would never be good-looking enough to date her.

No, it had nothing to do with his own fascination. She looked like she needed those kinds of real world experiences, the ones where she had her heart broken, where she laughed, where she cried. She needed the things that made life worth living. That did not include slaving away in front of a microscope for the rest of her life.

What Yasuke didn’t know was that Setsuna loved her life. This was the most she had been able to live, the most she had been able to socialize, in eons. He had no idea what her real life was like. For her, sitting in the lab all day, talking intelligently with Yasuke and studying the secrets of the world felt like a sliver of heaven. 

She could still taste the stall air and sense the thrum power of the Door of Time. She could feel it calling to her, always in the back of her mind, always pressing the loneliness down on her heart. For her, this cold, empty lab was a paradise of experiences and sensations and life.

Being outside of Time’s loop overwhelmed her sometimes but here, quiet, with Yasuke there whenever she wanted someone to talk to… it was peace.

“Don’t you have some friends who might want to see you?” Yasuke suddenly said, noticing Setsuna’s eyes straying back to her microscope. She still held her food in one hand, forgotten and limp.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I do actually,” Setsuna said with a little smile. Her eyes brightened all of a sudden and Yasuke felt the breathe leave his lungs. Her beauty was suddenly different. Instead of cold and closed off, her saw a passion he hadn’t anticipated. It made him rethink the “too-old-for-her” part of his argument that had always stopped him from asking her out.

“Who are they? Anyone I’ve met?” Yasuke asked, just a little jealous of whoever could make Setsuna, the quiet and shy young woman, smile like that.

“I don’t know if you’d understand,” Setsuna said with a little laugh. “They’re a bit younger than I am. Usagi and Ami are only sixteen,” she said. Yasuke blinked, nearly dropping the rice ball he’d been lifting to his mouth. He rubbed his hand through his beard to hide his hesitation and took a big bite. This gave him a moment to think.

“You’re hanging around high school girls?” he asked, trying not to sound as if he didn’t understand. This was new – getting Setsuna to talk about herself was usually like pulling teeth.

“They’re much more than that, to me,” Setsuna said mysteriously. “But Ami said something about needing some help with her studies and Usagi has recently very well on her exams. We’re going with our friends to celebrate her accomplishments.” Setsuna felt an unfamiliar rush to say those words: “our friends.” She had never had such a thing, not since she’d met them.

“I see,” Yasuke said, processing this. She seemed so proud… but also as if she were hiding something. This was confusing.

“Our friend, Michiru, has a concert she needs to perform for first and then Hotaru has to finish some of her homework before we’re all going to dinner. It’ll be the first time we’re all together again in about…” Setsuna paused, thinking, “about two weeks. We’ve all had fairly hectic schedules and with Usagi studying for her exams so much, it has been very difficult for us all to meet. It wouldn’t be the same without her there.”

“Are these all high school girls?” Yasuke asked, his head already spinning. His entire perspective of Setsuna had been turned upside down and he wasn’t sure how to think of the young woman yet.

“Michiru is my age,” Setsuna explained, “she is a violinist. Hotaru is my adopted daughter,” she lifted her hand to show a wedding band on her finger. Yasuke frowned, again scratching his earlier thought that perhaps she was a young widow and therefore quiet because she was in mourning. How he’d gotten everything wrong! “Hotaru is still in grade school but she is nearly done with her school year. When Chibi Usa comes to visit next, I’m sure we’ll all have a party again to celebrate their accomplishments as well!”

“You sound as if you have a very large group of friends,” Yasuke said, relaxing into a smile. He couldn’t help it. Seeing her so happy, talking with such pride, it was getting to him. The skepticism had evaporated and he couldn’t help thinking that perhaps this was the best thing for her. So what if she hung out with high school girls? She was certainly young enough to have friends that age… right? She was only what, twenty-three? Twenty-four? Perhaps she was even younger.

“They’re my family,” Setsuna said, lowering her voice. Yasuke blinked, surprised that she sounded so embarrassed. She sounded almost as if… as if she was confessing something. “They mean so much to me… I just want… I just want to protect them all and do my best.” She nodded towards the microscope. “I live with Michiru, her girlfriend, Haruka, and our adopted daughter Hotaru. Sometimes, I pretend… that they really are my family. That Hotaru really is my daughter and…” she stopped, suddenly coming back to herself.

“They must be very lucky,” Yasuke said, transfixed by Setsuna’s sudden honesty. She was usually quiet for so long, never speaking about herself… it was fascinating to see this side of her and to discover just how unique her life was. “They must be very lucky to have someone like you protecting them.”

“T-Thank you,” Setsuna said, blushing slightly. “A-Anyway, Ami and Usagi told me yesterday that they would be coming to get me whenever we were ready to meet the others. I just wanted to get some things done before they got here. I guess I got a little carried away.” She smiled ruefully at the microscope, thinking of the seemingly endless reports and data she’d been completing lately.

It had been a strange year. Aside from abandoning her post by the Door of Time and coming to live on Earth, Setsuna had been sensing something strange happening that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. She could sense it right now – the threads of Fate tugging at her. All that she could hope for was that she would recognize the signs of whatever was coming and know whether it was friend or foe, before it was too late to do anything about it.

The knock at the door made both scientists jump. Setsuna blinked at the door, surprised that anyone would bother. Usagi and Ami would have come right in, although it was still a little early for them, and anyone else would have known what they were coming to get. The other departments usually came in every now and then to get a clean beaker or a specifically made stupor of some kind. Sometimes they even paused to exchange statistical read-outs and plan their next meeting, but otherwise all was quiet. And no one bothered to knock unless they were lost.

“It’s open,” Yasuke called, glancing questioningly at Setsuna. She shrugged.

Two men came in through the door. They were noticeably tall and well built. Their tailor-made suits looked a tad too perfect and Setsuna’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the guns holstered behind their otherwise impeccable jackets. The obvious tipoff that these men were not supposed to be here was the fact that they were wearing black sunglasses while indoors, at night.

Setsuna stood from her stool, half standing in front of Yasuke out of habit. She could sense it now, the strings of Fate twisted around these men, twisted around herself. She forced her face to soften into an impenetrable mask.

Yasuke didn’t notice Setsuna’s change in stance, merely stood and ran his hands over his wrinkled lab coat. He wished he’d dragged a comb through his long black hair and maybe shaved this morning. These men were making him feel especially self-conscious, mostly because Setsuna was there.

“Can I help you?” Yasuke asked in his most helpful voice. He’d noticed the sunglasses too.

“Are you Yasuke Arisawa? Setsuna Meioh?” the first man asked. He took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright green eyes. Setsuna’s eyes flicked up to his blonde hair and the way he struggled with his words. He was a foreigner, obviously.

“Yes,” Setsuna said in English. The man smiled in relief.

“Oh thank God,” he said, much more at ease. Even his partner relaxed and smiled weakly. “I thought I was going to mess this up again. We’ve been up and down this corridor for the past hour trying to find you. But after I got past the names, I couldn’t understand the directions people gave me.”

“Do not worry, I speak English,” Setsuna said without a trace of an accent. “This is my associate, Yasuke Arisawa,” she said, motioning to him. He nodded, following Setsuna’s lead. He had no idea what the blonde-haired man had said.

“Good,” the man said. “We’re with the American Secret Service,” he said, showing her a badge, “and we’ve been sent here with the permission of your embassy to escort you to the airport. Our governments have worked out an arrangement for you to travel to the United States in conjunction with your company to work on a top secret project.”

Setsuna blinked, waiting a moment to let this information sink in. “The United States wishes for us to travel to your country? Without any prior notification?”

“What’s going on, Setsuna?” Yasuke demanded in Japanese, his eyes widening.

“They wish for us to accompany them to the airport, to America,” Setsuna explained in Japanese. “They say that their government has spoken with our embassy. It’s top secret, according to them.”

“Without notification?” Yasuke demanded.

“I’m sorry but this is time-sensitive,” the man said in English. Setsuna looked at him, frowning. The strings of Fate were being especially powerful at the moment. She could and normally did ignore them but for some reason, they would not allow her to think clearly.

“May I ask what this pertains to?” Setsuna asked in English. “My associate and I would prefer to have at least an idea of what we’re getting ourselves into.”

“We cannot give you any information,” the man said apologetically. His partner reached into his briefcase and retrieved a manila lder from inside. He handed this to Setsuna.

“This is all the paperwork,” the other man said. “Your superiors have already signed off on it and your paychecks for the next year have been entered into your bank accounts.”

“My daughter,” Setsuna said quickly, realizing from the feel of the folder without having to open it that the contents would change the direction of Time. It was Yasuke who took the file from her limp fingers and paged through it, his eyebrows coming together in surprise. “I have a responsibility to my daughter, Hotaru. And to my other housemates.”

“Can you leave her with anyone?” the first man asked. He’d stopped looking nervous and instead had started really looking at her. His eyes strayed a little downward. Setsuna didn’t notice. Yasuke did and took a step towards the men. The words “leave her” resounded in Setsuna’s mind, making her tense.

“I will not leave my daughter,” she said in a carefully clipped tone. Both men immediately looked up at her face, sensing the shift in her mood. Where she’d been accommodating and friendly before, now she was hostile and controlled.

“We’ll have a car pick her up on the way to the airport,” the man said quickly. “I’m afraid we can’t do anything about your roommates.”

“Hotaru won’t go with you unless I tell her to,” Setsuna said, her voice still measured. “Let me make a phone call and then we shall depart.”

“O-Of course,” the man said, his eyes widening. He immediately got out of her way as she walked past them. Before she closed the door, she heard the man’s partner say, “I thought we had orders not to bring family members.” But he’d said it in German, probably thinking Setsuna wouldn’t understand. It was stupid of him to assume.

She went to the stairwell and up to the roof, two at a time. When she’d reached the top, she took out her cell phone and searched for reception. Once she’d gotten it, she called Michiru’s cell phone. It rang exactly three times before Michiru’s light voice came over the line.

“Mushi mushi,” she said.

“Michiru, get your things packed. Hotaru and I are going to America. A car will come to pick her up. You and Haruka must follow us,” Setsuna said, her voice betraying a little of her frustration.

“Setsuna, what’s going on,” Michiru said. There were some shuffling sounds on the other side of the line. Good, she was packing while she talked.

“There are some American Secret Service men in the lab right now and they’re taking me and Yasuke to their country. They have all of the correct paperwork filed,” she said, tapping her foot.

“What do they want you in America for?” she asked, tossing something across the room. Setsuna winced, thinking of how annoyed Haruka was going to be about this when Michiru told her.

“It’s top secret,” Setsuna explained, “and they won’t tell me anything about it. Make sure to bring Hotaru’s medication. We’ll need to find a doctor once we get there to ensure we can continue getting her treatment. Can you call the concert hall also and ask them for an extended-,”

“I’ve got it,” Michiru interrupted breezily, “don’t worry about the little things. Just tell me why you want us with you. If you didn’t think this was serious, you wouldn’t have bothered.”

“I can sense something strange,” Setsuna admitted, relieved that Michiru understood the urgency in her voice. She could already hear the front door slamming behind Michiru and the roar of her car engine. Wait, Setsuna frowned, that was Haruka’s car. Good, she really did realize the urgency. “I can sense that Fate is bringing me somewhere important. And I need to make sure I have you all there in case something big happens.”

“I understand. I’ll let Haruka know call Hotaru’s school in ten minutes. We’ll speak with her professors and make sure they understand the situation. Haruka will call all the necessary places in the United States to ensure that we are well received. She still has some contacts there from when she raced…” Michiru paused and Setsuna heard screeching tires and blaring horns before Michiru’s calm voice came over the phone again. “Find out what you can and we’ll meet up later.”

“Just remember to tell Usagi and the others before we go,” Setsuna said. “They should be on high alert in case they need to be ready in Japan.”

“Consider it done,” Michiru said and ended the call. Setsuna stared up at the sky for a moment and took a deep breath. With a firm resolve, she turned back to the stairwell and descended back to the lab. She’d done all she could.

...

“I understand,” Rei said, frowning as she stared out the window. “But I don’t like it. With the four of you out of the country, things will be a little more difficult on our end.”

“Don’t tell me you can’t handle a few youma without us?” Haruka’s amused voice carried well through Rei’s phone and she sputtered just as if the other woman had been in the same room as her.

“Of course we can! We were doing just fine before any of you showed up!” she said indigently. “But it isn’t that. I meant other things. You know how strained Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship has become since Usagi’s father became so strict about her grades. And if anything bigger than a few youma comes along, then we’ll be severely limited.”

“I know,” Haruka said, her voice sobering. “I’m very much aware that this could be some sort of trick to divide us. Setsuna’s pretty upset about it even without being something supernatural but we don’t have much of a choice. She has to go no matter what and she’s spooked enough to bring us all along. One of the guys said that no one was supposed to bring family. That means something important.”

“That Setsuna can be scary when she wants to be?” Rei said, arching an eyebrow.

“Aside from that,” Haruka said, “they’re bringing other people. This is big, whatever it is. Michiru has been hearing talk that some of her professor friends are suddenly “disappearing” all over Europe. Something’s happened in America that’s bringing specialists from all different fields there, all top secret, all run by the government. We need to be there in case its something related to the Senshi.”

“I see what you mean,” Rei said, biting on a fingernail. “I’ll speak with Ami about this, see if she can find any information out through the internet with Luna and Artemis. I’ll ask Minako also. She had some friends when she lived in England that might know what’s going on.”

“The more we can get, the better. Just be careful with the information you pass along to us. I get the feeling we’ll be monitored in America. The government tends to be paranoid, especially about classified information.”

“We’ll only send important information through our translators,” Rei agreed, fingering the device in her pocket. After cell phones, her translator was going to seem a bit strange. She hadn’t used it in some years. “Whenever you get any information you can give us, pass it on. We’re all prepared in case of an emergency. Luna’s prepping the other right now about some possible transportation we might need in case you call.”

“It might be wise to find some excuses ahead of time,” Haruka said. “If you do leave at the drop of a hat, it can’t be helped. But if you have warning ahead of time, you might be able to leave without anyone becoming suspicious.”

“Luna thought of that. She and Artemis have been brainstorming about what possible reasons we could come up with. They’ve even suggested an exchange program with America in case we need to stay long term. The problem is that Usagi’s grades might still not be good enough to qualify. She did better this term but she still has her old scores to contend with.”

“We’ll think of something,” Haruka said with a sigh. “The car just pulled up. I’ll call you when we arrive in the States. Hotaru sends her love.”

“Tell Michiru and Hotaru we love them too and we miss them already,” Rei said, frowning. “Just be careful. I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole situation.”

“You’re not the only one,” Haruka said and hung up. Rei clicked her phone off and sighed, frowning at the phone. She went to her dresser and pulled out some warm socks, putting them on while she stood. A moment later she was at the door, slipping her shoes on. Before her grandfather had a moment to ask her where she was going, she’d already left.

“So the Senshi are officially on high alert,” Usagi said with a sigh. She shuffled to her desk and dropped the heavy books from her cram class. She still had to do some more problems if she had any hope of keeping up with the class tomorrow. She’d thought studying was hard before – keeping her grades up might very well kill her. “And the others will be keeping us up to date on what’s going on in America.”

“Do you think it would make sense for me to go as well?” Mamoru’s contemplating voice soothed Usagi but she paused at his words. She nearly dropped the phone, she stopped so suddenly.

“No! Don’t go!” Usagi said, “I need you here!”

“I wasn’t saying I would go!” Mamoru said quickly. “I was just wondering if they needed me there. We have no idea what this is and I just thought I might be able to help.” Usagi clenched her fist over the phone, her whole body shaking. “Usako, it’s okay,” he said gently. “I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry. I’m just trying to figure this out. It frustrates me that it seems all the answers are on the other side of the world.”

“I know,” Usagi said, exhaling sharply. “And I know they could really use your help right now. It just… scared me when I thought of you gone. It’s hard enough knowing they’ll be so far away. I’m trying to do normal things right now, human things, but I have these other responsibilities at the same time. It’s frustrating for me too,” she frowned, “because I have these two… these very different responsibilities. I can’t just drop everything and go there, like I want to.”

“Exactly,” Mamoru said, the relief evident in his voice, “I wish we could both go. But we have to do other things here. Don’t worry, okay? Setsuna and the others know what they’re doing. Of all the Senshi, they’re the best suited for this. And they’re less conspicuous.”

“What does that mean?” Usagi asked, pouting despite her verbal conversation. Mamoru seemed to hear it and chuckled.

“You don’t know a word of English, Usako,” he said with amusement. “Ami would be translating for everyone the entire time.”

“… that’s true,” Usagi said, blushing with embarrassment. “Now I really wish I’d paid more attention in class.”

“I can tutor you, if you’d like. At least the basics,” Mamoru said. “It can be just like all the other classes we’re learning together.”

“That might be a good idea,” Usagi said. “Hopefully this is nothing bad. We’re talking about it as if something big has already happened but we don’t know for sure. We might be overreacting for nothing.”

“That’s true,” Mamoru said, although in his voice there was doubt. “It’s better to be prepared in case something does happen. We’ve been through too much already to sit back and allow things to happen without trying to change them before they become too dangerous.”

“You’re right,” Usagi said with a sigh. “It’s just hard to keep up with everything. I have to worry about exams, friends, my family, all of the things that I love but at the same time I need to worry about youmas attacking and saving the world.”

“At the very least you know you’re not alone,” Mamoru said soothingly. “No matter what, I will always be by your side.”

“I know,” Usagi said softly. “Some days, that’s all that keeps me from crying.”

...

Adonis paced the length of the reception area. It was not a long walk – the room was tiny compared to the various security clearances, elevator rides, eye scans, finger print analysis, security questions, and many, many doors. Adonis had felt that the room might have been his end point but now he saw that this was the final test – a test on his patience. He was going to go crazy if they didn’t tell him what was going on soon. He had been trapped in this particular room for three hours with an uncomfortable beige sofa and a fake plant in the corner for company. He was going to scream soon if someone didn’t-,

“I apologize for the delay,” a voice said. He turned to see a tall man in a military uniform, a large envelope under his arm. “This way, please.”

“This is about as far as I go. I want answers and I want them now,” Adonis said, narrowing his eyes. The man frowned, tilting his head.

“I know you must be frustrated but the security is absolutely necessary. Please, it will all be explained when you walk through this door.” The aforementioned door seemed innocent enough to Adonis as he walked towards it, frowning. There was no fingerprint scan or anything else. The only thing beside it was a green button.

“There’d better be answers,” Adonis warned. “If you make me go through anything else, I’m going home.”

“Understood,” the man said with a slight smile. Adonis frowned and moved forward, waiting for the man to push the green button. The man came a little closer and did so, watching Adonis as the stainless steel door slide open. Adonis’s mouth fell open when he realized what he was seeing.

“What… what is it?” he whispered, his eyes traveling over the enormous room. No, it couldn’t be a single room. It was like an underground building – so huge he couldn’t even see the edge of it. “What is all of this?”

“This is the research area for the Lunar Expedition,” the man explained. “My name is Julio Martinez – I personally brought back about a third of everything you see right now.”

“Why am I here?” Adonis whispered, staring at the enormous structure off to his right. It looked like a Greek temple with ivory columns and broken status all around it. “Lunar… Expedition…. This is all from the moon?”

“Now you understand the security,” Julio said as he nudged Adonis inside. The door behind them closed with a whisper of air. “We can’t risk anyone knowing about this until we are absolutely certain that the public will not be put into any danger. We stumbled on it and we don’t know what half of it is.”

“Then why am I here? I’m just a language expert! You need a… a…” Adonis floundered for words, his eyes zeroing in on every detail around him without seeing the larger objects. He saw a delicate hand here, a gleaming jewel there, someone’s ponytail on the far side, the hum of conversation all around him. There were so many people around them – researching it all. There was so much…

“Some of the artifacts we brought back have a strange language on them. We need someone to start working on them as soon as possible,” Julio said. “Can you do it?”

Adonis continued to look around, his eyes so wide he couldn’t even blink. He looked up at Julio with his mouth hanging open, still at a lose for words. He simply nodded, taking a deep breath. The excitement started brewing the moment he agreed and Julio’s next words only excited him more.

“Welcome to the team.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter gets into the fun stuff, hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!


	5. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adonis got into the spirit of the place quickly. He missed Monica from time to time but she was as much out of his head as the rest of the world. Because the Artemis IV compound was enclosed and windowless, day melted into night, week into week. It was like living in a bubble sometimes, the way that life continued without any seeming end to each day. There was only the research, and the researchers.
> 
> Occasionally a busybody military type showed up, suspiciously tinkered with their research until all of them got antsy, and then vanished in a mildly threatening way. Other than this unwelcome intrusion, this was their world – endless books and resources, open communication between all disciplines – it was better than any university because of the freedom they had to follow hunches and explore even the craziest ideas.

Adonis got into the spirit of the place quickly. He missed Monica from time to time but she was as much out of his head as the rest of the world. Because the Artemis IV compound was enclosed and windowless, day melted into night, week into week. It was like living in a bubble sometimes, the way that life continued without any seeming end to each day. There was only the research, and the researchers.

Occasionally a busybody military type showed up, suspiciously tinkered with their research until all of them got antsy, and then vanished in a mildly threatening way. Other than this unwelcome intrusion, this was their world – endless books and resources, open communication between all disciplines – it was better than any university because of the freedom they had to follow hunches and explore even the craziest ideas.

Adonis felt like a pioneer among his peers, intuitively suggesting thoughts that were correct in every single situation. He got a bit of a reputation as an alien himself, as everyone joked that he thought like an alien. He knew artwork from machinery, history from legend, theory from practice; everyone else, meanwhile, struggled to guess the difference. He could touch an object and know its function. He felt like a king among his subjects, just as awed as they were by the priceless discoveries surrounding them every day.

The researchers were clustered in stations all around the compound, organized by field and credentials. This terminology often sparked debate as some classifications preferred not to be included with others.

For example, the lunar civilization was dated back to roughly one thousand years ago, which led the NASA people to bring in historians of that time period. Because of the turmoil of the time, the high emotions of opposing historians, and general academic rivalry, several of the historians had to be separated when polite verbal sparring became hoarse shouting contests verging on physical violence. After that, the government officials “in charge” consulted the researchers before classifying anyone again.

At two hundred acres, the research area alone was a thing of beauty. The ceiling was over twenty feet above the floor, allowing more room for some of the bigger artifacts, and paintings hung from every wall all around to give the illusion of space. They were actually very far underground and Adonis often felt claustrophobic if he stopped to think about where he was, but this did not happen often. He was often overwhelmed and delighted by the plethora of information surrounding him every minute of every day.

He soon forgot everything, even Monica, instead focusing intensely on his work. He had always been this way, always enveloped in whatever project he was working on at the time, but this was somehow different. Handling these artifacts gave him a sense of purpose, a strange feeling of elation and happiness.

For all of their research and all of their wild speculation, they quickly numbed to their real work. After a few weeks, they were no longer handling alien artifacts. They might as well have dug up the ruins of any number of ancient human civilizations. None of it was real to them. None of them understood exactly what the Lunar Ruins were. Not until the schedule dropped off.

It all started when Major George Walters and Lietenant Katherine Mulligan (an astronaut from the original Lunar Expedition mission) didn’t show up for their usual daily inspection. They usually hung back and watched, asking appropriate, non-threatening questions every now and then. Most of the researchers ignored them but their presence was felt just as much as the florescent lights.

Distracted by what he suspected to be a jewelry box, Adonis distantly noted their absence. He spoke quietly to Uma, a sixty-something year old linguist from Stanford University, when the loudspeakers blared to life overhead. “Will all researchers on active duty please assemble at the Stones in the next ten minutes for an official meeting, please. Ten minutes people – we want this to go quickly.” The voice cut off and Adonis glanced at Uma, frowning.

Uma leaned back with a wince, untying her loose ponytail, smoothing out the gray hair into a more organized pile, before pulling it back up into a ponytail. She was the oldest of the three women linguists working with Adonis. She always wore the same clothing – a jean skirt and a polka dotted blouse, usually accompanied by a sarcastic comment to lighten the mood. “Who do I have to impress?” she’d demanded when one of the other women, probably eyeing Adonis, had started coming to work in heels. Veronica, the youngest of the old women, was similarly minded, rotating through various one-sentence shirts (“Shit happens” in fifty different languages was Adonis’s favorite) and worn jeans. She also had the loveliest face of the women, claiming that she’d never worn sunscreen in her entire life and didn’t have a single freckle.

Lucia, on the other hand, was extremely careful about her appearance. Even after the ten minute warning for the meeting, she’d dragged her purse onto her wrinkle-less skirt and pulled out a comb, brushing her hair until it shone and moved as one. She then carefully pinned it back so that it framed her heart-shaped face, accentuating her slightly surprised-looking face (Uma swore that she’d had a face lift at some point in the past and Veronica swore Lucia used Botox, but Adonis, being a man and blessed with a fairly perfect complexion, couldn’t tell). She insisted on fixing her lipstick before she allowed any of them to move away from their work area and towards the Stones.

The Stones were the great pillars that had been one of the landmarks of the Lunar Expedition. They’d been arranged into something of an amphitheatre (the architecture experts had gone a little crazy…). This was also the center of the research area, the only place large enough to hold everyone working there at the time.

It also held Her.

Adonis held his breath as they entered the Stones, his eyes immediately going to the front of a metal dias where the crystal coffin was kept. The sleeping giant inside was breath taking and beautiful, as always. Without understanding why, Adonis felt a strange sense of unease as he stared at the body, mingled with just a little bit of adoration. Part of him worshipped the beautiful woman, just as everyone else secretly did. People were making bets about her, what kind of person she could be. Who she was. What she was.

Someone at the head of the room whistled, getting everyone’s attention. As they all settled in their places around the Stones, Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan walked to the front of the group, carrying a large picnic basket. Someone made a crack about Yogi Bear but otherwise no one commented. They were too curious to see why they’d all been called to order. The Lieutenant cleared her throat for the final murmurs to die down, lifting the basket a little.

“Congratulations, you’re all about to reach Classified Information status,” she said cheerfully. “We have monitored you as you have worked, ensuring that you faithfully follow the conduct expected of your field of expertise, and we have found that you, all of you, must know what it is you are working for. We thought, when we first found the Ruins, that we would have all the time in the world to explore and study the moon. This does not seem to be the case at present – we are, surprisingly, under a time constraint. We need to find someone.”

“What’re you talking about?” Veronica shouted from the back of the room. Someone made a crack about the linguist department never keeping their mouths shut, which earned them a pretty fierce glare from Uma.

Adonis stared at the basket, ignoring the nervous squabbling around him. What did this have to do with any of them? Why were they graduating to Classified Information status? What was she even talking about? What time constraint?

“Perhaps I should allow our visitors to explain for themselves,” the Lieutenant said, tilting the basket a little. A tabby cat rolled out of the basket, shook itself, and looked out over the group of scientists. Several of the other scientists started snickering in the far corner closest to the exit. Veronica and Uma made some snide remarks about Mulligan finally going nutty in Earth gravity. Adonis stared at the cat, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the crescent moon shape on its forehead.

The cat ignored the laughter and moved closer to the microphone set up on the podium. It brushed its face with a paw and then looked out over the group again. “Can everyone hear me?” a deep, masculine voice said through the sound system. Everyone froze. No one dared to so much as breathe. “Can everyone hear me?” the cat repeated, tilting his head and flicking an ear towards the closest speaker. From the basket, a second cat emerged. This one was smaller and a beautiful gold-yellow color. This cat also had a crescent moon mark on its forehead.

“I think that we should have allowed Ms. Mulligan to introduce us, Papa,” the other cat said in a high-pitched, female voice. From the way she flicked her tail, this appeared to be an ongoing argument from earlier. She sounded like little more than a child. She stretched on the podium, flexing long nails. “Maybe you should just tell them bluntly.”

“Right,” said the male tabby cat, clearing his throat. “My name is Orion and this is my daughter, Calliope,” he nodded to the other cat, who bowed her head once. “We are from a planet called Mau in a distant solar system. We are the intergalactic advisors to the Moon Rulers.”

No one spoke, no one moved. They merely stared, their jaws hanging wide open.

“Humans are a little funny,” Calliope said to her father quietly. The microphone picked up the remark. “Do you think they don’t understand what it means?”

“Perhaps not,” the other cat remarked. He addressed the group again. “You see our former queen,” he nodded to the crystal coffin. All eyes automatically moved to the coffin, looking on the beautiful woman in an entirely different way. “She is Queen Serenity, Keeper of the Silver Crystal, and commander of the Sailor Senshi of this solar system.”

When no one spoke, the cats became a little impatient. “Do any of you,” Calliope asked, “even know what we’re talking about?”

“How can you be talking at all?” someone in the group finally asked.

“We are not from Earth,” Orion said. “It is not important – our planet no longer exists. I have tried to contact them but there is… it isn’t there anymore.” The shielded pain in his voice was quickly suppressed as he continued. “It does not matter about us – there is a greater duty that we must fulfill, that we have sworn to fulfill. Please – we beg you for your assistance.”

“What do you want from us?” Uma demanded, still staring at the cats. Adonis could see the cogs working in her brain – how were they speaking, what muscles did they have, did these aliens have some sort of vocal cords, was there magic involved, who taught them?

“My daughter and I have the ability to awaken the Queen. She has slept for centuries and her power has regenerated during that time. It was a devastating loss of energy at the time, but with so much more time to heal – it is possible,” Orion said.

“She’s… she’s really alive?” someone asked.

“She is the Queen,” Calliope said simply. “She is too powerful to die so easily.”

“We can awaken her,” Orion continued, “but we must find… someone very important. We must discover if she is alive at all… knowing the Queen, she would not have allowed harm to befall her. But we must find her as soon as possible, and we must protect her. We do not have long before others sense the Queen’s presence in the universe again.”

“Wait, slow down,” Adonis said. “What are you talking about? Who is it that you want us to find and protect? Who will “sense” the Queen awakening?”

“The other planets, of course,” Calliope said. “A whole lot of princesses died over a thousand years ago – you don’t think their mothers and fathers want to know if they’ve been reborn, as the Queen swore she would if anything happened to them? King Mars and King Jupiter especially must be seething! The second they feel her presence, they will send ambassadors to Earth.”

“Are you talking about… aliens?” Uma asked, her mouth hanging open again.

“You’re the aliens,” Calliope said under her breath.

“Yes,” Orion said, giving his daughter a look. Even as a cat, that look was universal. “The Kings of Mars and Jupiter are well-known for their tempers. And a thousand years is a long time for your daughter to be dead.”

“But they aren’t who you want us to look for… or are they?” Adonis asked, trying to stay focused on the subject.

“We must find Princess Serenity,” Orion explained. “She is the Queen’s daughter and the heir to the Silver Millennium …” at the blank stares, the cat sighed, “the Silver Millennium is the name of the Moon Kingdom before it fell.”

“How did it fall?”

“Who called it the Silver Millennium? Are there records on Earth about this?”

“Where can we find the Queen’s daughter?”

“Why is it important to find this princess?”

Adonis watched as the room dissolved into chaos. The cats tried to field questions but eventually Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan had to come and facilitate the group. Even then, no one could understand any of the answers they were given. They only sparked more questions – all more complicated than the last. Adonis only stared at the cats, somehow sensing what was happening.

He alone grasped what they’d said – they needed to find this Moon Princess and probably some other alien princess (Mars and Jupiter at least) or there would be trouble… in the form of war. He couldn’t say how he knew this, but he did. He realized at that moment that he’d always possessed this knowledge, had always known about Silver Millennium and other planets. It was like forgetting a powerful memory – when you remembered, you felt stupid for forgetting in the first place.

...

Usagi sat in Rei’s temple during one of the most interesting meetings she’d experienced in a while. Admittedly, she hadn’t been to a Senshi meeting in a long time, because of her recent debacle with her grades, but now she felt that she should, as the leader, attend this particular meeting.

Setsuna had finally called in from America.

The government officials that met her at the airport were not happy to see Hotaru in tow. Luckily, they hadn’t noticed Haruka and Michiru getting off the same plane. They’d conversed briefly by the bathrooms at one point but otherwise the Outer Senshi had kept their business strictly quiet, focused instead on their destination. This had been a good strategy because the first order the government officials had issued was to return Hotaru back to Japan for someone else to care for. Setsuna refused point blank and threatened to approach the media if they continued harassing her. When Yasuke threatened to return to Japan with Setsuna and Hotaru, he’d called their bluff.

Naturally they folded and welcomed the petite, quiet child – after all, she didn’t look at all dangerous – and instead focused on soothing Yasuke. He was one of the most respected and recognized scientists of Japan so getting him on their side was more important in their mind than appeasing his strange young intern.

When they called the Senshi in Japan, they were located in a hotel, waiting. They’d been informed that a military officer would come by soon to debrief them about national security and classified information, so the call had to be quick. Setsuna and Ami had set up video conferencing through Ami’s computer and Hotaru’s laptop while Yasuke was showering.

Makoto passed a large bowl of cookies and poured milk for each of the girls as Ami fiddled with the connection, fixing it so that the communicating Senshi could see each other clearly through the web camera. Hotaru smiled and waved when she saw Ami’s close-up face and called for Setsuna to come closer.

After a few seconds of murmuring and the sound of a door opening and closing, Haruka and Michiru’s legs came into view. Usagi smiled and leaned closer, happy that in this strange way they were all together again. Mamoru said some final words to Rei’s grandfather by the door before he came in and sat behind Usagi, automatically leaning over her shoulder to see the screen.

With a blush, Usagi accommodated herself and tried to ignore Minako and Makoto’s amused expressions. She leaned towards the table, forcing herself to remember the discipline Mamoru had taught her for the endless hours they had spent studying when Usagi’s entire life had become her grades. It helped – she could concentrate on things other than his hand gently kneading her back, his just-showered smell, the way his bangs tickled her neck.

“I call this meeting to order,” Minako said. Although she was still smiling, everyone immediately settled into place and moved closer to the screen. Mamoru quietly marveled at her presence – Minako, even though she didn’t seem to notice, had a strong effect on the other Senshi… she was very much the leader.

“How are things in America?” Makoto asked, grinning as she handed the bowl of cookies to Usagi. She took a handful and passed it on, blushing as she held one for Mamoru. He grinned and took it from her with his fingers, munching on it as he leaned his chin on her shoulder. Usagi blushed, only a little disappointed that Mamoru hadn’t eaten the morsel directly from her hand.

“Incomprehensible,” Haruka said from the other side. Michiru rested against her shoulder with Hotaru in her lap. Setsuna was seated on Haruka’s other side, wearing a lovely white blouse and a pair of pearl earrings – she looked as if she’d just come back from work. Her expression held an edge of worry, as it always seemed to. It softened when she saw Usagi and Mamoru so close together. It warmed her heart to see the Prince and Princess like this – they so rarely showed so much outward affection in front of other people. Mamoru especially was a bit shy when showing his feelings for her in front of other people.

“I’ll bet,” Minako said with a grin. “What do you have to report?”

“Not much,” Setsuna said, still frowning. “I have attempted to discern the reason for my being here by eavesdropping as much as possible. It is very difficult. The military here is particularly secretive and they seem to know that they can be overheard in any language.”

“Where are they taking you?” Usagi asked, frowning.

“As far as I can understand,” Setsuna said, “it is a military base somewhere in the Southwest. America is a large place… I am not as familiar with the area as I am of other countries. It is one of the few places I have never visited before.”

“Even if you visit a lot, you can never see it all,” Haruka said. “I’ve come here a few times for races but there are always more places to visit. I can’t say much about where we are right now, I’ve never been near the desert before.”

“I can sense a great deal of activity in this place,” Hotaru said. “Whatever this place is, it has a swell of alien energy. It feels familiar but…” at this, she paused, blushing a little, “I’m sorry, but I can’t figure out where I’ve felt it before. But it’s familiar, very familiar.”

“Then this is definitely something we should keep an eye on,” Rei said, leaning against Ami’s shoulder.

“For now,” Minako said, “just try to relax and wait for information to come to you. Openly seeking it might alert our possible enemies that we’re aware of them. Try to act human, Michiru and Haruka, you do the tourist thing if you can, and wait for Setsuna to come back with a full report from the inside.”

“That seems to be our only option,” Setsuna said with a grimace. “I wish there was more we could do.”

“Don’t push yourself,” Usagi said. “You’re doing your best. For now, we have to be patient.” Setsuna and the others smiled at her, feeling a swell of pride for her words. It hadn’t occurred to them until then that they missed Usagi – her presence was like the sun. Without her there, nothing really shined as brightly.

“We’ll report back when we have more to go on,” Haruka assured them. “Until then, we’ll all have to be patient.” They said their goodbyes as Haruka and Michiru walked out the door. Just as the shower turned off behind Setsuna, Ami severed the connection. The girls dispersed a little, taking their respective perches around the room. Usagi felt Mamoru gently kiss the back of her neck before he moved back a little. Usagi smiled at him, understanding his need for a little more space. She only twisted so that she was sitting cross-legged in his direction.

“We’ll stay connected while they’re away,” Mamoru said softly to her. “Don’t worry, they’ll be all right.”

“I know,” Usagi said with a small smile. It was so obvious what he was doing – trying to take her mind off of the worry she was feeling for the others. She was wired like that – worrying about everyone. 

“So don’t worry, okay Odango?” Mamoru said with a mischievous grin. Usagi giggled and nodded, taking his hand into hers. She didn’t do more than this, seeing how he glanced briefly at the rest of the room. The other girls were trying to pretend they weren’t looking, speaking with each other about their brief meeting, but they were watching nonetheless. Usagi swallowed her disappointment with a smile, knowing that this was something that had always bothered Mamoru. It was a part of him that Usagi had already gotten used to.

“I’ll try not to,” she said. Mamoru smiled, squeezing her hand.

“Hey… do you want to go out for an ice cream? Get your mind off things for a little while?” Mamoru asked, looking into her eyes. Usagi felt the air leave her lungs, so entranced did she become by the way he was looking at her. Sometimes she forgot that he was really hers, that he’d really chosen her of all the other women out there in the world, and when he looked at her just that way, she felt it.

“Go on,” Luna said. Mamoru and Usagi looked at her, Usagi with a blush. “We can handle things on this end. You two need a break anyway.” She meant it to be a kindness but Usagi could see that Mamoru was just a little annoyed. He didn’t like that everyone was listening to their conversation.

“Then let’s go,” Mamoru said, a wide smile on his face. He hid it well these days but Usagi felt a little relieved that they were going out to be alone. He often felt suffocated when all of the Senshi were together, especially in such an enclosed area. He’d often called it “estrogen overload.” Usagi had never understood the phrase – that is, until Mamoru had helped her study for her biology exam and explained what estrogen and testosterone were. The next time he made the joke about estrogen, she’d laughed so hard he’d thought she might hurt herself.

Mamoru and Usagi said their goodbyes to the group, finally walking out together. Once they were about two blocks from the temple, Mamoru turned around and pulled Usagi tightly into his arms. She gasped softly, surprised at the sudden action, but quickly relaxed and wrapped her arms around him.

There was something about hugging Mamoru, some strange intimacy to the action, that Usagi felt a little more self-conscious hugging him than holding his hand in public. The way he seemed to put his entire soul into the action or maybe just being so close to him… either way, Usagi snuggled deeper into his embrace, feeling relieved and at peace.

“I had a nightmare last night,” he said softly. Usagi lifted her head, staring up into his worried blue eyes.

“That can’t be good,” she said with a little apprehension. Mamoru’s nightmares, whether real or only deeply rooted issues, always made Mamoru react in strange ways. He usually didn’t tell her about them either, so this was new. “What happened?”

“It wasn’t about the future,” he said with some difficulty. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. He struggled for words, thinking of how best to describe what he’d seen. “It didn’t feel like a regular nightmare. It felt a little like… like the old dreams I used to have. When we first met, when I was dreaming of you asking me to bring you the Silver Crystal. But back then, I didn’t know it was you. It felt a little like that – knowing but not knowing.”

Usagi frowned, staring up at Mamoru’s closed eyes. After a moment, he opened his eyes and stared down at her. His breath caught a little, captured in her stare. He wondered sometimes how he could have possibly gotten Usagi for his own. Of all the men in the world, she’d chosen him to fall in love with not in one but two lifetimes. It was something so wonderful, he forgot to breathe around her sometimes.

“What happened in the dream itself? Do you remember?” she asked softly. Mamoru remembered to breathe.

“I was… running. I was in a… a familiar castle. I don’t know where right now but in my dream, I knew exactly where I was. I was running… and there were people trying to catch me. Or stop me… I don’t understand it completely now that I’m awake. But I kept thinking of reaching a specific room. I kept… thinking of you,” Mamoru said. The agony in his voice made Usagi gently pull his head down against her chest, her fingers smoothing over his hair. Mamoru remained there, shaking.

“Don’t leave,” Usagi said without thinking. Mamoru stiffened but didn’t lift his head, staying pressed against her. Usagi hugged him tighter against her.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mamoru said softly. He didn’t say it as if he really believed his own words, more that he was convincing himself that it was possible.

“Don’t leave me,” Usagi repeated softly. Tears were already running down her cheeks but she didn’t bother to wipe them away. In truth, she didn’t even know she was crying. She only held him against her heart, willing him to stay there forever. “I just feel as if you’re drifting away from me. I feel like you’re trying to say goodbye.”

“Never,” Mamoru said, his voice much more controlled and confident. He lifted his head slightly and kissed her neck. She shivered, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. He pulled her closer and kissed her for a long moment. She clung to him as if he might vanish at that moment. “I’ll never leave you,” he said. “No matter what happens, I will always be with you. I don’t care what else happens.”

“Me too,” Usagi said. “Whatever else happens, I want to always be with you.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Mamoru said.


	6. The Queen of Silver Millennium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setsuna wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt before she took a step closer and placed her hand on the security scan. Hotaru stood beside her serenely, her hand clasped in Setsuna’s free hand. It had cost an arm and a leg, literally seven hours of arguing, screaming, and threatening, for Setsuna to convince her hosts to allow Hotaru to accompany her into the compound. The level of security was astounding – something Setsuna, who was no stranger to that sort of thing, had never encountered in her life. It made her wish she’d asked Haruka and Michiru to reveal themselves and come with her, too. As it was, she was grateful for Hotaru at her back.
> 
> It was lucky for her that all the security people they encountered were men. Hotaru, a seemingly sweet, innocent child, was the only one who wasn’t physically searched, and only because Setsuna insisted that Hotaru was sickly and would need her if she had another “attack.” Hotaru took it all in stride, keeping quiet and shy, but clinging to Setsuna’s hand to show that she would not part with the woman. The security men were rougher with Hotaru in the beginning, but once they’d gotten through a few security points they backed off.

Setsuna wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt before she took a step closer and placed her hand on the security scan. Hotaru stood beside her serenely, her hand clasped in Setsuna’s free hand. It had cost an arm and a leg, literally seven hours of arguing, screaming, and threatening, for Setsuna to convince her hosts to allow Hotaru to accompany her into the compound. The level of security was astounding – something Setsuna, who was no stranger to that sort of thing, had never encountered in her life. It made her wish she’d asked Haruka and Michiru to reveal themselves and come with her, too. As it was, she was grateful for Hotaru at her back.

It was lucky for her that all the security people they encountered were men. Hotaru, a seemingly sweet, innocent child, was the only one who wasn’t physically searched, and only because Setsuna insisted that Hotaru was sickly and would need her if she had another “attack.” Hotaru took it all in stride, keeping quiet and shy, but clinging to Setsuna’s hand to show that she would not part with the woman. The security men were rougher with Hotaru in the beginning, but once they’d gotten through a few security points they backed off.

Along the way, they threatened to send her right back to Japan, of course, but it was Yasuke who’d laughed at their threat. Setsuna was one of the worst kept secrets, as it was well known that she was an astounding intern with the potential for an amazing career in her field. Yasuke, being one of the chief reasons she was well known, made sure to rub in their faces that if Setsuna was kept back, he would leave.

He need not have bothered. After phoning Haruka right before entering the compound, Setsuna discovered that the military had specifically searched out not only the best in a selected field, but good-looking, often young individuals in those fields. Haruka theorized that the military was looking for people who could be trained to speak with the media – that was the whole reason they were so desperate for her to cooperate. In the end, she’d threatened to sue them for endangering her child’s life and leaving immediately. They relented, under protest, but relented just the same. That meant she had more power here than a mere intern.

They were at their one hundred and sixth checkpoint when they were finally left alone in a room together. Hotaru sat in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs, kicking her legs as any restless child would have. When the men left the room, Hotaru’s eyes immediately flicked up to the security camera at every corner of the room. Setsuna sat beside her, resting her hands in her lap and remaining perfectly still.

Hotaru tapped her foot on the floor in a seemingly careless motion but Setsuna recognized it as Morse code. “The energy in the next room is incredible” came Hotaru’s message. Setsuna tapped her message against her arm, staring at the door.

“We must be prepared for battle,” Setsuna said to her in the message. “We cannot let our guard down.”

“The energy is immense,” Hotaru said again. “It is so familiar… but I do not remember where I have sensed it before.”

Yasuke paced in front of the final door, threading his hand through his salt and pepper hair. It stayed at way, roughly combed back from his forehead. He paused at some sound he heard but when nothing else happened, he started pacing again. Setsuna waited for him to stop glancing at her before tapping out another message.

Before Setsuna could get halfway through the third word, the final door opened with a hiss and a man came out. He wore a military uniform and brought a flare of energy with him through the door.

Before he could open his mouth, Setsuna stood and walked towards the door. He moved to stop her but her patience had worn thin. She had not slept the night before, she had not been told why she was there, she had spent hours arguing with morons to bring Hotaru with her, and she was angry that she’d been separated from Usagi. As much as she trusted the Inner Senshi to protect her, she (like all the others) only felt secure when she could watch out for the Princess’s safety with her own two hands.

“Get out of my way,” Setsuna said sharply. “I am quite tired of this. Either show me what you are doing or I will leave right now.”

Yasuke looked nervously at her. He had no idea what she’d said in English to the authoritative man but, at the same time, he could sense the gist of it. She had always been so calm… the voice of reason during times of crisis. What could be setting her so on edge? Sure, this was a confusing and frustrating situation… but this went far beyond anything he’d seen of her. And the whole time Setsuna was yelling, the little Hotaru clung to her hand calmly, staring at the man with such old, wise eyes.

As if sensing eyes on her, Hotaru looked up at Yasuke with those penetrating, clear eyes. He felt his chest freeze and the air went out of him as he stared into her luminescent, purple eyes. She had a cut oval face framed by shimmering black hair. She was thin and feminine, beautiful in a heart-breaking, innocent way. He couldn’t help but stare at her… he couldn’t help himself. She had a ferocity like Setsuna’s… sad, distant, beautiful.

“Please, allow me to introduce myself,” the man said soothingly. He sounded as if he was accustomed to meeting angry people all the time. Setsuna felt her anger grow but she held her tongue, only staring at him and waiting for the man to do something to impress her. “My name is Julio Martinez. I am one of the astronauts on the original Lunar Expedition. Perhaps you’ve heard about it, on the TV? We returned from the moon recently with some very unique artifacts.”

Setsuna and Hotaru tensed. Hotaru squeezed Setsuna’s hand. They did not need to use any special code to get their message across: How much do the humans know? With a purposefully nudge and a meaningful clearing of his throat, Yasuke urged Setsuna to translate for him.

“What kind of artifacts?” Yasuke asked, oblivious to the new tension. Setsuna repeated his words in English for him. “And what does it have anything to do with our research? We are involved in some of the most groundbreaking and complicated molecular and theoretical physics in the world. How could we possibly help with… with… space rocks?”

“We found bodies,” he said. Hotaru clenched Setsuna’s hand until their knuckles turned white. She didn’t translate, even when Yasuke looked directly at her. Their hearts had sped up and both Senshi analyzed the situation.

How much did they know? How much had survived?

If they needed physicists…

“Take us inside,” Setsuna said, her voice dangerously calm. Julio noticed the shift in attitude but he didn’t mention it. Others had reacted this way as well… determined to see for themselves what he was talking about. The curiosity was always so much stronger than the anger they felt after the hours of security checkpoints they had to endure.

“Right this way,” he said, moving to open the door for them. Hotaru pulled Setsuna forward, both moving quickly into the room. Setsuna paused when she started recognizing… pieces. Memories flashed behind her eyes as she remembered… she actually recognized many of the objects carelessly positioned around the room. Of course she recognized the portrait of Princess Serenity… she’d been present when Neptune had painted it, a hundred lifetimes ago. She recognized the great Time Door Queen Serenity had once used to speak with her… she clenched her eyes, remembering.

Hotaru did not pause at all, dragging Setsuna forward, guiding the paralyzed woman through the maze of objects. She did not allow memories to flood her mind. She was too caught up in the intense energy of the room. Julio began to protest her speed but Hotaru kept moving, passing various confused members of the staff and handfuls of researchers, ignoring the various “delicate” experiments in progress. She also ignored some angry protests as she passed, until she stood in the center of the Stones.

“Hey, you can’t come in here,” an old woman barked at Hotaru the moment she saw her. She wore a nametag that had “Uma” written in purple ink. The command had been firm. Unfortunately, she spoke it in English. Hotaru only knew Japanese, and would not have stopped regardless of who tried to stop her. She did not pause. She moved to stand over a large coffin, staring down at it with cold eyes. Setsuna returned to herself and stared down at the crystal structure as well, her eyes widening.

“I knew that this energy felt familiar,” Hotaru said softly. “I have only sensed it once before.”

“The Queen,” Setsuna said, emotion entering her voice. This was something she had never expected, never sensed in the timeline. There were often things hidden from her, to ensure the smooth progression of the future, but this was a particularly big “gap” in her extended memory.

“What Queen?” Yasuke asked curiously, coming up behind them. His eyes were flicking everywhere around the room, his mouth hanging open a little as he stared. He looked down at the coffin, not really understanding what it was, but still curious as to why his companions were paying such particular attention to it. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“You should not be here right now,” Julio said sharply. He looked particularly angry as he came up behind the group. The woman called Uma, frustrated at being ignored, glared at the group.

“I thought we weren’t allowed to bring our families?” Uma made the statement into a scathing question, her eyes focused on Hotaru. She wasn’t sure why but the vibe she got off the girl… it was so cold. It made her angry… and terrified.

“This was a special case,” Julio said as an aside and then moved up beside Setsuna. “I must insist that we move back to the entrance. There is much you must be shown before we can-,”

“Where is the Queen’s body?” Hotaru asked, looking up at Julio. The broad-shouldered, imposing man only stared down at her blankly. Hotaru scowled and looked at Setsuna to translate.

“Where is the body?” Setsuna asked, her eyes growing hard. The surprise was wearing off and her training was kicking in. It was ingrained in every single Senshi – protect the Prince and Princess. Protect the royal family. Protect the Queen.

“How…” Uma gasped, her eyes widening.

“… How do you know that there was a body?” Julio demanded, visibly tensing.

“What body?” Yasuke asked, frowning at Hotaru. Setsuna felt a headache coming on… translating between the two languages was going to get complicated. “What Queen?”

“Where is she?” Setsuna said, staring into Julio’s eyes. A distant part of her reflected that he was a handsome man… intelligent, capable… what a shame that he was not forthcoming with information.

“How do you even know about her?” Julio demanded, his voice rising in volume. Hotaru tensed and looked around, her eyes widening.

“I sense her,” she whispered. “I sense… oh.”

Setsuna sensed them now too. They were a presence she had only felt once, only met once, though they had never seen nor ever heard of her. They knew nothing of the Outer Senshi – they barely knew about the Inner Senshi. But they all knew, very well, who they were.

“They’re still alive,” Setsuna whispered in Japanese. Yasuke’s eyebrows quirked but he still didn’t understand.

Without another word, Setsuna and Hotaru strode purposefully towards a section of the compound that was specifically blocked off. They ducked under the restraining tape and went around the various barriers. Julio pulled out a walkie talkie and mumbled something about security into it. Yasuke quickly hurried after Setsuna and Hotaru, not just because they were the only people he knew, but also because they were the only people who knew Japanese. Somehow though, he felt he didn’t know them after all.

Setsuna pulled at the knob of a simple-looking door but it wouldn’t open. Julio and Yasuke caught up with the women, Yasuke panting a little.

“Just calm down,” Julio warned. “You can’t go in there. Let me explain.”

Setsuna lifted her foot and smashed the door down. Yasuke’s jaw dropped as Setsuna and Hotaru hurried in. They paused, blinded by the sudden light.

The room was spectacular and unexpected. Instead of another “room,” they walked into what looked like a garden under a lazy sun. There were rose bushes all around, the sweet smell suffocating the newcomers as they entered. The winding path beneath their feet lead farther into the “room” where three people sat around a beautiful blue-tiled table, each sipping from an ornate gold goblet. Setsuna’s heart sped up when she recognized the three people sitting around the table – she never thought she would see any of them again.

Two tall and lean men in golden armor approached them, drawing glowing swords. Julio’s eyes widened as he saw the guards heading towards them and prepared to call security again. Hotaru narrowed her eyes and lifted her arm to shoulder height. Fisting her hand, she pulled her scythe from her place of power, the pool of energy within her where the strength of Saturn resided. She swept the scythe above her head and sliced the air, forcing the guards back.

Setsuna followed Hotaru’s example, calling her Key of Time forth and stepping aggressively towards the guards, forcing them back. Yasuke only watched in surprise and terror as these two suddenly-alien women moved quickly and efficiently forward. The three figures sitting around the table stood quickly and came closer. Three more guards standing around them tried to stop them.

“Do not move closer, Your Majesties,” one of the men said. “We have this under control.” Yasuke’s eyes widened. He knew that they did not speak Japanese. He also knew that they did not speak English. But whatever it was they spoke, he understood every word.

One of the three figures, a tall, beautiful, pale woman saw the group and moved towards them, ignoring the warnings of the guards. As she drew closer, Yasuke got a really good look at her.

She was more than just tall, she was practically a giant, but she was so elegant, so beautiful, tears fell from his eyes without his permission. Her silver hair was styled in a strange way into two buns on the top of her head, the rest of her luxurious locks drifted easily past her slippered feet. He estimated that her hair was longer than the woman was tall… and it was so beautiful. Her silver/gray eyes were kind and sad, so beautiful. He couldn’t comprehend that beauty – so he cried.

“Stand back,” Julio said sharply, trying to restrain Hotaru. He yelped when Hotaru gracefully swept her scythe back and nearly decapitated him. Both women froze as the tall, beautiful, pale woman approached. They stopped defending themselves and dropped to their knees, lowering their heads in identical symbols of respect and submission.

“Your Majesty,” both said.

“You are familiar to me,” the woman said. Yasuke gasped, feeling his heartbeat quicken. The voice… it was so… it had that same quality of the guards, that of not being quite Japanese, not quite English… and yet completely understandable. It was something akin to liquid, smooth, soothing.

Setsuna lifted her head and stared up at the Queen, her eyes softening. She stood, using her Key as support. Hotaru slowly stood, staring up at the Queen as if they were the same height. As if they were equals.

“I am Sailor Pluto,” Setsuna said simply. The Queen’s serene face shifted, her eyes widening.

“Pluto,” she whispered. “But… how? How can you abandon your post?” Setsuna winced, biting her lip.

“My mission has changed,” she said simply. She glanced down and motioned to Hotaru. “Allow me to introduce my adoptive daughter, Hotaru, Sailor Saturn.” If Yasuke thought the Queen looked surprised by the strange things Setsuna was saying, he noted that her face changed further at the mention of Hotaru.

She gaped and stared at the small girl. Yasuke, despite nearly being throttled by the scythe that was twice Hotaru’s height, could see nothing but a little girl with a lovely, sad face. She was so young… he could not understand what Setsuna was saying.

“Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of Silence,” she said in a terrified whisper. She even took a visible step back from her, as if she were repulsive. As if she were dangerous. “What has happened to Earth that you should come here?” the Queen asked worriedly.

“I came here a year ago,” Hotaru said in a clear, authoritative voice. She did not sound like a small child but her words were still in Japanese. The Queen didn’t seem to have a problem understanding her. “My mission has also changed. I am not here to destroy this world but to protect it, alongside Sailor Pluto.”

Julio, who was unable to follow Setsuna and Hotaru’s half of the conversation in Japanese, merely watched in just as much confusion as Yasuke. Both men exchanged bewildered looks before looking back at the women. Whatever they were saying, the Queen seemed to understand… seemed even to recognize them. The two other figures finally left the table and approached the group. Yasuke glanced at them, having forgotten their presence after the magnificence of the alien Queen.

They looked like two simple human beings… one was a man and one a woman. The man was tall by human standards, with ebony-colored hair and the most striking blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. He wore golden armor like the guards and a brilliant golden crown. Beside him, presumably his wife, was a regal woman with chestnut-colored hair styled into a complex combination of braids and brightly colored ribbons. Her deep burgundy gown, reminiscent of the Middle Ages, accentuated her lovely gray eyes. Her crown was still on the table beside her teacup. 

“Who are they?” the other human Queen asked. She too had that strange way of speaking – no discernable language but still understandable. “I do not believe that the Earth military invited them in. They were not announced to us.”

“These are Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn,” the Moon Queen said. “It seems I have lost a great deal of time while I slept. They would not be here unless the situation was dire.”

“I do not recall these Senshi,” the human King said, a slight disapproving note to his voice. He looked them up and down boldly, looking right through them. “Are you even sure they are who they claim to be? They look and feel perfectly human to me.”

Setsuna and Hotaru bowed once and closed their eyes, gathering their power. “Pluto Star Power!” “Saturn Star Power!” they shouted their transformations and felt the flow of power as they transformed into their Senshi forms. Yasuke actually screamed, his eyes widening as he watched the Setsuna he had known become completely alien, completely Other, right before his eyes. Julio choked on his own spit.

“I am Sailor Pluto, the guardian to the Door of Time,” Pluto said softly. Her language changed – it was no longer Japanese. It was now that same language the other three monarchs spoke. Julio and Yasuke both understood her.

“I am Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of Silence and the bringer of destruction,” Saturn said, poised beside her scythe. It no longer looked quite so silly… a young girl swinging around a weapon twice her size. She held the weapon as if she knew what it could do and was perfectly capable of destruction.

The guards around the monarchs immediately stiffened, understanding the true danger, and shifted nervously. Most were new to the guard and had heard stories about the Senshi, although they had no idea what it was they were dealing with. But, there were others who had once seen the power of the Senshi.

They knew better than to see these young women as just that… they were not women. They were Warriors, on a scale they could not begin to comprehend. They were the ultimate warriors of entire planets. The soldiers, mere guardians, could not hope to match their power.

“Why have I never heard of you?” the King demanded.

“They are the two most powerful Senshi in this solar system,” the Moon Queen said softly. “They should not be here.” She paused, staring at them. “Why… why are you here?”

“Our new mission,” Pluto said, her face blank of emotion.

“To protect the Prince and Princess,” Saturn said, her look far colder and more removed.

“We will not fail,” they said at the same time. Yasuke stared at them and, although he thought they looked ridiculous in their outfits, felt a chill go up his spine. He had the feeling that they could kick his ass no matter what they were wearing.

...

The lights of Tokyo sparkled appealingly at Usagi’s back but she ignored it, staring up at the building she hadn’t seen in over a year. The arcade looked pristine, sparkling with youth and wonderful memories. She hadn’t been here in so long, she felt a little guilty walking in now.

She stared at her reflection in the glass doors, staring at the sparkle in her eyes and hair, the way her skirt fell just so over her legs. How many times had she stood here before, ready for a chocolate milkshake, ready to flirt shamelessly with Motoki, ready for love. She’d been a completely different person a year ago, and an entirely different person a year before that. How things had changed.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like those things – chocolate milkshakes, flirting, love – anymore. She just… felt differently about them, focused on them in another way. She hadn’t even seen Motoki for a while. Did she have the courage to go in now? Would he even remember her, he wondered? It was a wild stab at her guilt that she considered it… they’d been close friends. Would he forget her?

“Is something wrong?” a deep voice asked by her ear. Usagi gasped and whirled around, nearly hitting Mamoru with the end of her hair. He didn’t move back, maintaining the intimate nearness, as he grinned down at her. He had been smiling at her like that for two years now… and she still blushed every time. She smiled up at him, feeling light-headed and giddy.

“I’m just… thinking,” Usagi admitted. She looked down at her shoes to fight the blush. Looking at Mamoru sometimes felt like a physical ache in her chest – it often frightened her how much she loved him and how his presence alone could undo her thoughts completely. “We haven’t been here in a long time. I’m just remembering when we used to come here every day.”

“When we hated each other?” Mamoru asked, a smile in his voice. He lifted Usagi’s chin with a single finger, staring into her eyes. “Or rather, when we wanted each other so badly we couldn’t think of a better way to speak to each other every day?”

“Um,” Usagi said, mesmerized. “Y-Yeah… I was thinking about that.”

“I see,” Mamoru said. He finally looked away, glancing at the doors. “Motoki has been dying for us to visit. He says things have gotten far too quiet without us around anymore to attract customers. He says that people started asking about us.”

“The Baka and the Odango,” Usagi chirped. She felt a little more herself now that she wasn’t alone in front of the arcade. Or maybe it was because Mamoru wasn’t looking directly at her anymore. “We could always try fighting again, for old time’s sake.” Mamoru laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They fit so well, Usagi noticed – she always noticed – as they stepped through the automatic sliding doors and into the soft hum of conversation and game sound effects.

“I’m not sure I could insult you without laughing,” Mamoru said as they approached the bar. Motoki hadn’t noticed them yet, speaking with some younger girls. Usagi half smiled, feeling memories come back to her at the sight. The girls were blushing and leaning towards Motoki, taken in by his sweet smile and his kindness. He’d probably given the girls free milkshakes for… some unknown reason. He always found a reason to give her and the other girls milkshakes when they really needed it.

“Hey,” Mamoru whispered into her ear. Usagi looked up at him, confused by the edge of seriousness in his voice. “Don’t go falling in love with him again.” His hand tightened around her shoulders, emphasizing his words. Usagi couldn’t help but laugh, smiling up at him.

“Never,” she said, just as seriously. Mamoru smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. Together they sat at the other end of the bar, leaning against each other and enjoying the day.

“You made it!” Motoki said when he noticed them, rushing over towards them. “And here I thought you would be too busy to come see me!”

“Hello Motoki!” Usagi said, smiling at him. “How is everything?”

“Great!” Motoki said. “Usagi, are you wearing a high school uniform?”

“Huh?” Usagi looked down, “Of course,” she said, sounding a little confused. “I’m in high school now.”

“Are you really?” Motoki said, whistling softly. “How time flies. It seems like only yesterday you and the other girls were here, playing the Sailor V game and worrying about exams.”

“Not too much has changed,” Usagi said, laughing. “We still worry about exams. Except now I study,” she admitted with a measure of pride. Mamoru grinned down at her proudly and hugged her tighter. She blushed, pleased by the attention. “I’m doing very well in school, no more 30s on my math exams!”

“Imagine that,” Motoki said, smiling at Mamoru fondly. “I wonder if you had anything to do with it.”

“I just study with her,” Mamoru said quickly. “She did it all on her own.”

“Anyway,” Usagi said, blushing, “How have you been, Motoki? Things got hectic for a while and we couldn’t come here as often as we used to. How is the arcade? How is your sister? And Reika?”

“All very good,” Motoki said, drifting towards the milkshake machine. He was already making one for Usagi, simultaneously reaching for the coffee pot for Mamoru.

This had been routine for so long, he didn’t even realize he was doing it. Mamoru was the only one who noticed and he smiled at the memories. This was such a good place, the arcade. It had been a refuge, a haven against the harsh reality of life. Now, it was a bubble of memories, memories of another life when he had been merely Mamoru Chiba and the beautiful girl at his side had been only Usagi Tsukino.

“My sister is studying for her entrance exams into high school now, too,” Motoki said as he placed the beverages in front of his friends. Even as Mamoru consciously realized that Motoki was acting on instinct, his hand automatically reached for the coffee. He smiled at himself when he realized he too was used to the motion. “And Reika… well, it’s interesting what happened with her.” He looked thoughtful. “Although, to be honest, I don’t completely understand what happened.”

“What happened to Reika?” Mamoru said, surprised from his thoughts. He sipped the coffee and leaned forward a little. “Is she alright?”

“She’s perfectly fine,” Motoki said. “She’s in America right now, working on a top secret project for the government. It’s so secret, she isn’t even allowed to tell me anything about her work. She sounds excited every time we talk on the phone though and she told me recently that there would be some sort of news report that would explain a little of why she couldn’t tell me anything. I thought she was joking but she insists there should be something any day now.” Motoki motioned up above his head where a small television was mounted and playing an international news program. Usagi tilted her head, looking at it.

“I thought Reika was happy working in Africa,” Mamoru said, frowning. “What could be in America that would have brought her there?”

“Like I said, I don’t know exactly. They are really serious about her not telling anyone anything. She almost slipped some important information to me a few weeks ago. The line disconnected and someone from Interpol came on, told me that I couldn’t listen to classified information, and demanded that I wait for Reika to contact me after she’d been spoken to.”

“Wow,” Mamoru said, raising both eyebrows.

“Why would she stay if they treat her like that?” Usagi said, wrinkling her nose. Motoki shrugged, refilling Mamoru’s mug.

“I asked her the same thing but she didn’t even sound angry when she called later. She said that the work was worth it and that she couldn’t wait for me to find out what it is. She said I’d understand when I found out what she was up to.”

“Sounds very mysterious,” Usagi said, her eyes widening. “Now I really want to know! Can’t we find out?” Motoki smiled.

“I certainly wish we could!” he said.

“Hey…” Mamoru said in a completely different tone of voice. “You said she’s working for the government? In America?”

“Yes,” Motoki said, blinking.

“What is it?” Usagi asked, glancing at him curiously. He eyed her strangely, recognition in his eyes.

“Setsuna Meioh is in America, hired by the government to work on a top secret project, too,” Mamoru said. Usagi stopped slurping her milkshake and just stared at him, going pale.

“Oh!” she said. “Do you think its possible they’re working on the same project?”

“I don’t know how,” Motoki said, sounding confused. “Isn’t Setsuna a physicist? Reika is an archaeologist… she has nothing to do with science, at least not in terms of what Setsuna does. I heard the two of them talking before and it was like apples and oranges, they could barely understand each other when they explained their different fields and projects. I couldn’t understand either of them so…” he smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“Hey!” someone yelled behind them. A tall, scrawny teenager rushed to the counter. “Motoki, turn up the TV! Look, isn’t that a Sailor Senshi?” All the eyes in the arcade instantly jerked to the small television and Motoki took a few moments to raise the volume. Mamoru and Usagi paled when they recognized a pair of familiar Sailor Senshi as they walked past cameras and photographers. Reporters naturally gave Sailor Saturn a wide berth because of the way she carried herself and her terrifying-looking scythe, but they flocked after Sailor Pluto as if she were a flame and they, mere moths.

“Oh! Oh! I’ve never seen one for real!” someone behind them said. No one paid attention.

“- and news has traveled quickly. Reports confirm that this may be the largest press conference ever held in recorded history. Sources claim that the main speakers of this event specifically called local, national, and international reporters from all over the world to participate. We have yet to know the purpose of this press conference or even who will be speaking but we have just… yes, I have just received information from our producers that the press conference is about to begin,” the commentator said. His face disappeared from the screen and immediately returned to a pristine lectern with a military coat of arms in the center of a large, oval-shaped conference room.

Reporters with cameras, notepads, tape recorders, video cameras, laptops, and every other form of media were crammed into the room. They didn’t bother with chairs – everyone stood like cattle, murmuring to each other as the final microphones were set up. There seemed to be hundreds of those, Usagi reflected in a daze.

She could not take her eyes off Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto. They did not look shy… they looked a little angry, perhaps even dangerous. When a reporter tried to speak to Sailor Saturn, she stared at him and swiftly brought down her scythe right over his head. The man screamed and jumped back, his eyes wide. Some reporters tried to make a fuss about this obvious attack on a member of the media but none of the security guards by the doors seemed to care what the Sailor Senshi were doing. Even they were afraid of the Senshi.

“I thought the Sailor Senshi only protected Japan…” Motoki said, half unconsciously. Usagi cringed, feeling exposed. Was anyone looking at her? Did they know who she was? She tried to look around but there was a sudden commotion from the television. Reporters started screaming questions at the woman who came out of a side door.

She was pretty in her military uniform, not a hair out of place. The uniform was free of wrinkles and on her chest gleamed a few medals. She stood by the microphones and waited for the reporters to accommodate themselves before she cleared her throat.

“Welcome,” she said in English. At the bottom of the screen, a translation appeared.

“Welcome,” Usagi repeated, trying out the foreign syllables.

“I am Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan,” the woman continued as the subtitles continued. “I am one of the astronauts of the Lunar Expedition, a recent project of NASA. It is my honor and my pleasure today to introduce our recent findings on the moon as well as to explain the presence of our friends,” she motioned to Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto. Neither of the Senshi looked at her, instead staring out into the crowd of reporters, their staffs clenched in their hands. “This is Sailor Pluto,” Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan continued, motioning to her. “From what she has told us, she is the guardian of the door of Time. Her companion is Sailor Saturn,” she motioned to the smaller girl, “she is known as the Senshi of Silence. Senshi stands for warrior,” she added, looking out at the reporters.

There was an explosion of sound as the reporters attempted to scream their questions louder than anyone else in the room. Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan did not even attempt to stop them, only waiting for them to quiet. When they had calmed slightly, she started speaking again.

“There is far more interesting information than the identities of our friends. Please be patient so that I may disclose our information before you ask more questions.” The reporters became deathly silent save for the continuous photographers taking pictures of the Senshi. She waited an extra moment to be sure and then nodded.

“Classified information has been declassified for the knowledge of the public – the public of the Earth, not merely for the United States. During our mission to the moon, we uncovered something we had never dreamt we could possibly find. We discovered the ruins of an ancient civilization which we now know to be called the Silver Millennium.”

Usagi and Mamoru tensed, Mamoru’s arm clenching around Usagi’s shoulders. They didn’t dare look at each other for fear that someone would understand their knowing, horrified expressions. They need not have worried; no one looked at them. Everyone was enraptured by the television, staring at the subtitles as they rushed by at the bottom of the screen. The reporters tried to ask questions but when Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan stubbornly waited for them to finish, she finally spoke again.

“We discovered the ruins of a civilization centuries ahead of us technologically. According to our records, the civilization was destroyed somewhere before 1,000 years ago – the exact date is unclear.” She paused for a sip of water. Usagi’s eyes flickered to Pluto, watching as the Senshi narrowed her eyes into the crowd. Saturn also looked in the same direction. “We also discovered perfectly preserved bodies. Three of them are still alive.”

The noise reached a fevered pitch. The reporters began shrieking questions at the top of their lungs. Everyone in the arcade started talking immediately, specifically talking to the television. They had questions of their own. Usagi only stared, feeling sick.

“Two of the survivors are Orion and his daughter Calliope. They were once advisors to the Queen of this ancient civilization. They appear to be cats but, we have learned quickly, they are not from Earth. They are from an extinct planet called Mau.” A strangled silence fell now as two cats, both jet black and short-furred, jumped onto the lectern and surveyed the group. Usagi’s eyes widened – what? Who were they? What… what about Luna and Artemis? For some inexplicable reason, a cold hand gripped her heart at the sight of those creatures. She felt strangely betrayed for her friends.

“Greetings, people of Earth,” a deep male voice came through the microphone. There were no subtitles when he spoke. Every single person in the world perfectly understood what he said. “I am Orion and this is Calliope.”

The smaller kitten bowed her head and chirped a happy, “Hello, humans!”

“We have come here,” Orion continued as Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan closed her folder and walked towards the far wall next to the door, looking at the cats, “to beg for your assistance. The third and final survivor of Silver Millennium that Lieutenant Mulligan mentioned is waiting just past those doors. She and two others have come to you now and plead… no, they beg for your assistance. We ask that this be aired in every country, in every city, spread to every part of the Earth.”

A loud, miraculously simultaneous “WHY?!” rose up from the reporters. Each one of them was scribbling incredulously on their notepads and laptops.

“We are searching for our Princess,” Orion explained calmly. “Princess Serenity of the Silver Millennium. We are also searching for Prince Endymion of the Elysian Empire. He is a Prince of Earth… but that is exactly the problem. Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion died over 1,000 years ago.” Confusion caused a murmur of noise but silence descended faster this time. “Our Queen reincarnated their souls,” Orion continued calmly. “They have not awakened to their true identities at this time but, if our Queen is correct, they should be alive now, living as normal human beings.”

On cue, the door to the side of the lectern opened and three people walked into the room. The reaction was physical – everyone leaned forward, their mouths dropping open. The most beautiful woman any had ever seen walked into the room, so pale and so tall that no one could mistake her for human. Her very presence screamed alien – or more, goddess.

“Stay back!” Pluto roared, dashing forward and smashing four people back. The reporters instantly drew back, eyeing her fearfully as Saturn came up beside her, pointing her scythe threateningly into the crowd. “Do not approach the Queen!”

“Please,” whispered Queen Serenity. The room instantly calmed and turned to stare at her. “May I speak?” she asked. Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan pointed to the lectern and the Queen walked regally towards the cats, the two other monarchs coming up behind her.

“Hello, people of the Earth,” she said softly. There were no more subtitles. All could understand her as well. “I am Queen Serenity,” she continued. “These are the King and Queen of your Earth,” she said, drawing attention for the first time to her companions. Mamoru gasped as if he’d been physically hit, his eyes glued to the screen. Usagi could not even make a sound, her mouth hanging open.

“Orion has explained our situation,” Queen Serenity continued, her voice soothing and serene. “My daughter, Princess Serenity, lives among you now as a normal human girl. Even as I speak, she may be watching with no memories of her previous life. That was the intention of the spell I cast to protect her. I wish… only to know that my daughter is safe. I beg anyone with any information about her, anyone who may have encountered youma in the past, to please… please contact me.”

The reporters had finally gotten over their stage fright and their mesmerized stupor. The Queen now became the center of a storm of questions. She looked around, allowing the chaos to continue. The Queen of Earth came forward and the reporters immediately went quiet, waiting for the new person to speak.

“My name is Gaea,” the Queen of Earth said. “My only son is Prince Endymion. He is a good man, a strong warrior. Please Endymion,” she stared straight at the camera, straight a Mamoru as his breathing stopped, “please come home. Please.”

After this, the monarchs were ushered out of the room. Lieutenant Katherine Mulligan and Orion fielded questions, answering only one or two but mostly stating “no comment” to the more interesting questions. Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto left with the Queen and the monarchs of Earth.

Usagi and Mamoru finally looked at each other.

This, they decided, was not good.


	7. His Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your tea is getting cold,” Gaea murmured to her husband. Sol absently picked up his teacup and held it to his lips without drinking it. He remained lost in thought, his face devoid of emotion as he stared at something that wasn’t there. It hadn’t been there for over a thousand years. Gaea recognized the look by now and through proxy thought of the same missing person: Endymion.

“Your tea is getting cold,” Gaea murmured to her husband. Sol absently picked up his teacup and held it to his lips without drinking it. He remained lost in thought, his face devoid of emotion as he stared at something that wasn’t there. It hadn’t been there for over a thousand years. Gaea recognized the look by now and through proxy thought of the same missing person: Endymion.

She could remember the day that he was born, so many centuries ago. She could remember the way his eyes caught her in their piercing stare, even at so young an age. She’d miscarried twice before and their only living daughter died soon after Endymion’s birth – at this point Gaea was sure she would never keep a single child, cursed forever without an heir. That is, until she saw Endymion’s stubborn blue eyes and she knew, she just knew that he would not die.

Because he had stolen her heart the moment he’d looked at her, she had secretly hoped to keep him to herself, forever.

She’d prayed for another male heir, to be king, all so that Endymion could forever be her favorite child. Even now, after he’d been ripped away from her, she could see him playing among the rose bushes. The way he laughed and radiated joy, casting that warm glow upon all who were near him.

He had glowed especially bright when he had been around one particular person.

It was during her loneliest moments that Gaea betrayed her careful control and allowed her true memory to edge out the false one she had construed. Normally she could lie to herself and see Endymion – only Endymion – smiling there among the rose bushes, but sometimes she couldn’t lie.

She closed her eyes, allowing the image to come, because it was true. Much as it pained her, it brought Endymion closer. She missed him so badly in that moment, badly enough to cut out her own heart with painful memories.

There he was in her mind’s eye, beautiful and full of life. A little over twelve years old, he still waved at her even as he created chaos around them. He tore off his cape and ran through the rose bushes shrieking at the top of his lungs, chasing after a little girl who shrieked even louder than him, her long blonde hair streaming after her like a banner of gold. When Endymion caught her and spun the little girl in the air, Gaea could clearly distinguish the crescent moon mark on her brow as if in slow motion.

“You are thinking of him,” Sol whispered. Gaea slowly opened her eyes, surprised that Sol had said anything at all.

He’d never spoken Endymion’s name since the day of his death, but they spoke of him often.

“Yes,” Gaea whispered, holding her breath.

“As am I,” Sol said, keeping his voice low and intimate.

They sat in awkward silence for a small eternity. Gaea tried to return to that happy memory of Endymion as a small child, delighted with the world and vibrant with life. But now all she saw was a distant man who looked too much like his distant father. She swallowed back a scream, clenching her eyes against the image.

“That day in the garden… when he first saw the…” he paused, clenching his fists. 

She inhaled softly, keeping her eyes clenched. Had he thought of the same memory? Were they standing right next to each other with their eyes clenched, thinking they were alone? She opened her eyes and stared at him. His eyes were slightly glazed and the teacup hung limply in his hand, nearly spilling on his knee. “He was so strong,” he finally managed to choke out.

Gaea hesitated, her hand extended to his shoulder, but she drew it back tightly against her chest.

“Can you think of anything else?” Gaea asked, leaning closer to him. The end of a chestnut-colored curl brushed his face. Instead of turning away, he leaned towards her, his eyes clenched. They hung like that for a time, breathing in the other’s breath, reaching out with their hearts.

Ever since Endymion’s horrific murder, Gaea and Sol had grown extraordinarily close while simultaneously drifting irrevocably apart. Sol co-ruled with Gaea as he’d never allowed before but, at the same time, did not come to her bed at night nor spoke of his inner thoughts as he once had in their youth.

Will this hole in my heart ever fill? Won’t I ever be happy again? Gaea stared up at the ceiling, hugging her arms around her shoulders and rubbing them. She couldn’t seem to get warm, much as she rubbed her arms and basked in the brilliant Elysium sunlight. She had not been warm in a long time.

Gaea bitterly recalled the string of mistresses, the endless attempts to produce another heir to the throne. All the children until Endymion had been stillborn and after him, she had not been pregnant again. He was her final child, her last chance. It had seemed like enough, back then.

But this was no longer just a matter of their shared grief as childless parents. This was a matter of survival – the Earth needed an heir of pure royal blood. They needed to find Endymion, if it was at all possible that he was alive.

How she wished she were dead. How she wished the pure light of the Silver Crystal had never bathed her beauty in its power, trapping her body, forcing her to age at the speed of a glacier. If only she were dead and with Endymion. If only she had never allowed him to visit the moon. If, if, if…

“If that… woman,” Sol said as he inspected his teacup, “much as I hate to say, if she can bring us back our son… then so be it. We will condescend to associate with her. So long as we get our son back, I expect you to be civil.”

“I hate her,” Gaea whispered, resting her forehead against his shoulder. The warmth radiating off his body made her remember their old familiarity. She closed her eyes, pretending for a moment that they were still familiar with each other. “I can’t stand the sight of her.”

“We have to stand her,” Sol said, his voice hard against her ear. His hand hovered over her shoulder and slowly rested on her skin. Gaea froze, too scared that he would move away. “We must… for him.”

“Yes,” Gaea whispered. She closed her eyes. Will the hole in my heart ever mend?

A guard close to the door coughed and made a motion to the king. Sol and Gaea quickly sat apart and looked to the door. The object of their loathing came into the garden and stood a good ten feet away, watching them. The expression on her face was a mixture of exhaustion and remorse.

“Everything all right, Your Majesties?” the guard said, aggressively glaring at Queen Serenity.

He should not have bothered.

Sailor Saturn approached behind him and only had to tap the bottom of her staff on his leg to remind him that Queen Serenity also had guards. The man drew back as if burnt and backed up a step before he paused. With a glance at his monarchs, the guard straightened and fingered his sword, waiting for orders. It was a brave thing to do, in the face of a Senshi. Gaea glared at Queen Serenity but knew better than to command any sort of attack. That was her pettiness talking. She would overcome it. She would.

“Everything is fine,” Sol said, his gaze shifting to Queen Serenity. He sat back in his chair with his legs comfortably apart, his eyes half-lidded and firm scowl marring his lips. He needed only to flick his wrist imperiously to finish off his cold arrogance.

The guard waited an extra moment before he nodded and walked back to the door. Sailor Saturn, sensing their tension, drew back a ways and stood staring at them. Sailor Pluto approached her companion from the door and looked all around the room, her glance never alighting on any person. Their silent guard was unnerving and meant to be that way – Gaea clenched her fingers in her lap.

“I know that my presence is not welcome,” Queen Serenity said bluntly. Sol narrowed his eyes but said nothing. “I know that our two families have not been on friendly terms, even before our children fell in love.” She took a deep breath, “I am still weak, recovering from my sleep. But once I am stronger, I will beg the people of Earth to help us find our children. Both of our children. I will show the people of Earth how important it is to find them. In this difficult time, I beg for your patience.”

“Your daughter is a witch,” Gaea spat, her face turning bright red. Queen Serenity’s expression changed as she looked directly at her, narrowing her eyes.

“I could say the same about your son,” she said sharply. “My daughter had many other suitors when she met him. And while your loss is tragic, you have only lost a son. I have lost everything.”

“Only a son!” Gaea leapt to her feet, shaking with rage. “How dare you! He was our only son, our only child and heir! Do you have any idea what will happen to this planet if we never find him?”

“The same thing that has happened to the Moon? Or have you never bothered to see what destruction your people have wreaked upon mine?” Queen Serenity said. Gaea drew away from the cold accusation. How did she know…? How did she know that none had seen the moon after its destruction?

“You may think that you are the only one experiencing a tremendous loss,” Queen Serenity said, pain lancing her angry words. “But you are not the only one who has lost a child. But,” her voice hardened, “unlike you, I can only ever have one child. Just… one… child. And Serenity was that child. And she’s…” she stopped, clutching her fist against her chest as if she were experiencing physical pain.

Gaea cringed away from the sight of so much agony. She had not expected to share this burden with the Queen. She too would never have another child. She did not want any sort of connection to this woman, most especially this intimate pain.

“We are sorry,” Sol said. Gaea looked at him, trembling. He did not meet her gaze but instead focused on Queen Serenity’s shining face. “Please forgive my Queen. Our pain has been terrible.” Gaea clenched her eyes and looked at the ground, biting back the emotion that choked her.

“I understand,” Queen Serenity said, her voice softening. “I do, but this is not just about your pain. Your son’s death may have doomed this planet but the damage would only apply to this Solar System, at most. My daughter’s death is… more.”

“Oh really?” Gaea said, failing to keep the sarcasm from her tone.

“My daughter’s power is far greater than you think, because of the Silver Crystal,” Queen Serenity said. “It has a power that, unchecked and unprotected, could fall into the wrong hands. The crystal must be on Earth somewhere, perhaps within her or perhaps elsewhere. Either way, I must find Serenity. I must protect the Silver Crystal.”

“It’s always about the crystal,” Gaea hissed. “Every time with you people, it’s Silver Crystal this and Silver Crystal that. Only power… that’s the only thing any of you ever cared about.”

“That’s not true,” Queen Serenity said, reaching out blindly for a moment. She sighed and hugged her middle, her gaze slightly unfocused. “If it were up to me, I would leave Serenity alone. I would not search for her.”

“What?” Sol said, blinking in surprise.

“You don’t want to find your daughter?” Gaea said, her anger melting into surprise.

“The nature of the spell I cast, has completely changed those who were sent to Earth,” Queen Serenity said, “My daughter, in every way you can think of, is human now. She was born to human parents, raised by human hands. As are the Senshi who were sent to protect her in case of an attack. It doesn’t matter what they once were, they are all human, all completely oblivious to their past, and happy. For all I know, Serenity and Endymion have found each other again as humans and are blissfully unaware of any connection they once had in their past.”

“As if you give a damn about Endymion,” Gaea said, baring her teeth.

“You are certain that he lives?” Sol asked quietly. He held up a hand to silence Gaea’s angry tirade, keeping his attention firmly on the Moon Queen.

“Yes,” Queen Serenity said. “I have tested my spell. They live at this moment… but they are without memories. I am certain of it.”

“Then we have to remind him and bring him home,” Gaea interjected. When Queen Serenity took too long to reply, she growled. “You painted a lovely picture of them being happy together… but what if they’re not? What if they’re miserable and alone – what if their lives are terrible? What if they need us?”

“Let us decide,” Sol continued, his eyes intense. “Tell us where he is.”

“I don’t know…” Queen Serenity whispered. “I don’t know where they are. The spell was too big, too much to keep track of it all after so many years. I wasn’t concerned about it when I cast it since I thought using so much energy at once would kill me. It has been distorted from what I created. I could barely find it when I awoke and even Serenity’s presence is masked from me. She could stand in this very room and I would not sense her.”

“Then send out an escort to bring them home,” Gaea said. “Score the ends of the Earth – search everywhere! We’ll find them eventually. With the help of the media-,”

“They don’t even know who we are,” Queen Serenity interrupted. “How could the media help if they don’t know what they are looking for? I told you – they’re human. They’re all human. If they stood in this very room, if the Senshi stood before their parents and siblings, they would not be recognized. Their personalities are probably completely different. They are different people than we remember.”

“I don’t care,” Gaea said, shaking her head so hard that her braid smacked her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. Endymion is the same person, on the inside. He will always know me. He will always remember, in some part of him that your black magic cannot touch. He will sense the truth of our pleas and he will come here-,”

“The Prince will not come to this place,” Sailor Pluto’s deep voice said. The three monarchs whirled on her, eyes wide. During the heated conversation between the two queens, the Senshi had drifted closer. Both Pluto and Saturn stared straight at them, their expressions icy and removed.

“W-What?” Gaea whispered.

“The Prince has no intention of coming here,” Pluto said firmly. “He has no idea who he once was. He is far too busy with his life right now to come to this place.” Gaea and Sol exchanged glances.

“You know where he is?” Sol demanded, rising to his feet. He cocked his hip – the side where his sword was attached to his belt – towards her in an aggressive threat. Pluto stared challengingly into his eyes.

“He does not know you,” she said. “And he is happy with his situation in life. Saturn and I have been watching over the Prince and Princess as humans. They are perfectly content with their human lives and they will not come here. They probably think, just like every other human, that your message to the world was a hoax.” She wrinkled her nose, a disgusted look crossing her face. “Even if they remembered their past lives, they would not come here.”

_“TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!!!”_ Sol roared. He kicked the table aside and leapt over it, shattering dishes and spilling hot tea. It oozed over the grass and coated it a dark brown. He drew the sword from his belt and charged the Senshi with nothing but blind rage on his side.

Gaea gasped and half covered her eyes so that she stared from between splayed fingers, painfully aware of the danger. She had heard all the same stories growing up about how lethal the Senshi were.

Saturn drew her scythe before her and shouted a command, _“Silence Wall!”_ A barrier of black electricity surrounded the Senshi and deflected the sword with ease. Pluto did not so much as blink.

Sol screamed wordlessly at her, more in agony than in anger, and continued to slash and pound against the barrier. Saturn watched him with unforgiving eyes. She shifted her stance and forced her scythe against his attacks, sending Sol flying back into his wife. Gaea screamed and grabbed him as he fell on her, clutching his shoulders to keep him down. He slumped completely against her, the fight going right out of him. She stared up at the Senshi from the floor, angry tears trapped in her eyes. The guards tried to come closer but one swipe of Saturn’s scythe sent them running back.

“We have no intention of harming you,” Saturn said as she straightened. “We are protecting the Prince and Princess.”

“That is our new mission,” Pluto said in that same emotionless voice. “To bring them here would be to destroy their human identities. They would be in the most danger here than anywhere else.”

“What do you mean?” Queen Serenity whispered. Gaea looked at her through the corner of her eyes, surprised to see that she was crying. Wasn’t she supposed to be the one giving the orders? Who was really in charge of the Senshi if not her? “We can protect them here,” Queen Serenity said. “They are in danger now, out of our sight. If they have no memories of their former lives, they can’t defend themselves. They won’t notice the signs; you know how deceptive the youma can be!”

“You don’t think an enemy has seen your message already?” Pluto demanded. Her icy exterior suddenly shifted and the anger behind her mask showed through painfully. Her eyes flashed and her cheeks turned pink. “Do you have any idea how many people want the Princess dead? How many probably thought she was still dead until your stupid little stunt? She is at the mercy of her enemies, thanks to your idiocy – if they were to discover her human identity, she would be powerless to defend herself! Or her family!”

Gaea blinked.

Family… it had never occurred to her that the Moon Princess or even Endymion might have a family now. She’d imagined them as they had always been, dressed in their fine clothes, speaking in their familiar way of times long gone, walking about unseen by the humans. She even envisioned the little Moon Princess with her crescent moon birthmark and her alien language.

But now… a family… she tried to envision it. Did Endymion have a mother somewhere out in the world? Siblings? What if he was happy there with a family who loved him?

What if he wasn’t? The thought chilled and resolved her. It was all hearsay at this point, that Endymion was happy. She had to see it with her own eyes. She had to touch him with her own hands.

“That’s exactly true, she is completely defenseless wherever she is. We need her here where she can be protected. You said that both you and Saturn have been watching over her but you have thus far remained by my side the entire time that I have been awake. Who is protecting her now, if not you?” Queen Serenity demanded.

“Uranus and Neptune have taken over that security,” Saturn said.

“Who?” Sol grunted. He had recovered from his failed attack. He sat up reluctantly, keeping his steady gaze on the Senshi. “Who are they?”

“Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune,” Saturn said. “They have protected the Princess in our absence.”

“What…” Queen Serenity whispered, her eyes wide, “what are they doing on Earth? What are any of you doing on Earth? What has happened to this planet?”

“The enemies you hoped your daughter would be safe from have been searching for her, and they have found her,” Pluto said. “It has been our duty to protect her.”

...

The weather had been rainy for the past few days and ensured that the Crown Arcade was moderately quiet as no one wanted to risk the rain. Those brave souls who made it were treated with hot chocolate and their pick of any gaming machine. Motoki decidedly ignored the television above his head as he cleaned some of the cups. He firmly muted the television anchor in the middle of a sentence and put the remote a good foot away from him. The news had gotten more and more insane lately as various people commented on the Lunar Expedition and the sudden, glaring proof of aliens.

He paused in his cleaning, making a face. Aliens… little green men. No one had ever told him that aliens could be beautiful. If he’d known aliens existed, he would have paid more attention in his physics class. Funny though, he could have sworn he’d seen those people on the television before. They looked very familiar for some reason. But that was absurd, how could he possibly know an alien queen from the moon and some mysterious king and queen of the Earth? Hadn’t anyone bothered to see if they were real or not? It sounded like a pack of lies to him.

The sliding doors opened and a wet, miserable-looking Mamoru trudged in. He collapsed into a stool close to Motoki and dropped his head onto his crossed arms. He exhaled softly and stayed like that, water dripping from his hair onto his arms and the counter. Motoki stared at him, waiting for his best friend to say something, but Mamoru remained as he was. He’d clammed up.

“Want some coffee?” Motoki tried. Mamoru nodded without lifting his head. Motoki waited a moment to give him an opportunity to speak up but he didn’t. With a sigh, he turned back to the coffee machine and poured some into a mug. This was strange… he’d never seen Mamoru like this, not since he’d started dating Usagi.

“Here you go,” Motoki said cheerfully. He placed the coffee directly in front of Mamoru’s right hand and waited. Mamoru managed to take the coffee and sip it without looking up at him. That was a trick he hadn’t seen in a while.

“Okay,” Motoki said, resting his elbows on the counter and leaning forward. “What’s wrong?” Mamoru remained silent, only releasing a soft sigh against his arm. Motoki frowned, waiting for a response. “Is it… Usagi? Did you have a fight with her?”

“No,” Mamoru said, finally lifting his head and frowning. “Things are great with her… she’s wonderful.” Motoki smiled a little, tilting his head.

“Thinking of popping the question?” he asked teasingly. It was meant to lighten the mood and embarrass Mamoru a little but his reaction was entirely different. Instead of turning red and screaming that it was too early to be thinking about that kind of thing, instead Mamoru just shrugged.

“I already have the ring,” he said softly. Motoki dropped the glass he’d been cleaning and it was Mamoru’s quick hand that saved it.

“R-Really?!” Motoki choked out as Mamoru placed the rescued cup on the counter. He nodded and shrugged again.

“I’ve been planning to propose to her ever since we started dating,” he admitted. “It was just a matter of time… I had to wait. I mean, I couldn’t very well marry her when she was only fourteen.”

“I… yeah, I guess that’s true,” Motoki said, still flabbergasted. He stood there staring at Mamoru, fighting back a huge grin. “Well, congratulations! You two are going to be so happy together. I’ve known that for years!”

“Yeah…” Mamoru mumbled and dropped his face back onto his arms. Motoki deflated and frowned, surprised by his friend’s melancholy attitude.

“So… Usagi isn’t the problem?” he prompted.

“No…” Mamoru said softly. “She’s the only true thing I have in my life right now.” Motoki blinked and leaned closer. Much as he felt that that particular comment should have wounded him, it rang with painful truth. What could be going on in Mamoru’s life right now that he would feel like nothing else but Usagi was true?

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Motoki said. “I’ll always listen when you need me. You don’t have to keep it all in like you do.”

“I know you think that,” Mamoru said.

“Then what is it?” he asked softly.

“I can’t…” Mamoru slammed his fist on the counter hard enough to dent it. Motoki jumped back, surprised by the sudden movement. “I can’t tell you! I can’t tell anyone what’s bothering me. I… can’t.” He ducked his head back onto his arms and sat there trembling. Motoki stared at Mamoru, desperate to give his friend some relief. What in the world?

He had known Mamoru for years, ever since they went to junior high school together. Mamoru was there when Motoki’s father gave him a part time job at the Arcade, then when he assumed control of the Arcade as manager, then had practically given the whole thing to him because he ran it so well. Mamoru was there when he fell in love with Reika, he was there when she left, when she left AGAIN, when his exams were driving him crazy, when he felt alone, when he felt annoyed, when he was happy. It had been a terrible time when Mamoru had vanished for a while, always hanging around Usagi and her friends. He finally felt like he had his best friend back and now… Mamoru couldn’t tell him what was wrong?

It had been a long time since they’d spoken of anything serious. Before, when Mamoru was painfully in love with Usagi and fought with her every day, Motoki could practically read Mamoru like an open book. He could tell when Mamoru was really angry, when he just wanted attention, when he was brooding, when he was depressed, when he was hiding something, and even when he was secretly happy. But now… he didn’t recognize this emotion at all. The desperation and hopelessness was something new.

“Why can’t you tell me?” Motoki asked. Mamoru started shaking his head.

“I wish I could. I WANT to talk to someone about it. But the only person I can talk to about it is Usagi, and she’s stuck in this mess too. It probably hurts her even more than it does me. I can’t bring it up with her; it would break her heart. But I just… I feel like I have to… do something…” he glanced up at Motoki wearily, “but I know I can’t. I don’t even have an option really… its stay here and suffer, or go where I feel I need to be and break Usagi’s heart and her trust.”

“The answer sounds simple,” Motoki said carefully. He had no idea what Mamoru was talking about but at least he was talking.

“It does sound simple, doesn’t it,” Mamoru whispered. “But I’ve never… I would be missing a huge opportunity if I didn’t go. I’ve never had it before, not that I can remember. I want to… I really, really want to. The worst part is I think Usagi would understand and she’d let me go. But it would crush her.”

“She wouldn’t want you to suffer like this, either,” Motoki said, picking up at least on the problems if not the real point. “Usagi loves you. She would never want you to suffer for something that she could give you.”

“You don’t understand,” Mamoru moaned and lifted his head. Motoki could see now that his eyes were red-rimmed and dark. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. “I’ve already abandoned her once, to go to America. If I did something like that again, I don’t know if she could take it. I don’t want to hurt her like that, not again. Not ever.” He stared at Motoki, begging him to understand. He wanted to be given an answer that satisfied him and Motoki had begun to understand that there wasn’t a simple “yes or no” answer that could fix this problem. He still didn’t understand what the problem could be, but it was obviously a serious one. And Mamoru’s reaction had been to come to the Arcade and find solace in Motoki’s judgment. It felt strangely like an honor – Motoki thought carefully before speaking.

“Usagi is the most understanding and forgiving person I have ever met,” he said. “And while it may hurt her to talk about your issue, I think it hurts her more right now to see you in pain and not know the reason why. Talking doesn’t hurt anyone – you should at least explain to her how you feel and what you’re thinking. Otherwise, she might feel like you’re going to leave without even consulting her. If she feels like she’s part of the decision, it won’t hurt her as much and maybe it’ll even feel like she has some control of the decision. If you stay and suffer or if you go and hurt her, she has no say. But if you come to a decision together…”

Mamoru stared at him without moving. He was absorbing the conversation, it was obvious, and he was processing the information in his head. Weighing his options, Motoki suspected. He waited for Mamoru to say something more – he would not be the first to break this pensive silence.

Mamoru slowly lifted his head to Motoki’s eyes again, prepared to say whatever he was going to say. “Hey, look! It’s the aliens again!” someone in the arcade shouted. Another kid grabbed the remote control from the counter where Motoki had left it moments before Mamoru came in. Before he could say anything, the television volume went up.

“-have your attention please?” a strong feminine voice from the television said. Both Mamoru and Motoki looked up. The Queen of Earth stood shyly in front of the microphones as flashbulbs went off insanely around her. She wore a deep crimson-colored dress with golden leaves embroidered along the hem. With her chestnut curls and luminous skin, she looked like an angel with the lights flashing around her. She looked directly into the camera.

“I have spoken to you before,” she said firmly. “I am Queen Gaea, monarch of this planet. I know that you, the people of Earth, were unaware of my existence. My husband and I have protected this planet, to the best of our ability, for centuries. My husband’s family has protected this planet since before that, since this planet’s birth. You have not seen me, but I have always been here.”

A loud noise disturbed the spell on Motoki. He shook his head as if waking from a dream and sluggishly looked back into the arcade for the source of the noise. A group of teens with their uniform shirts undone, one of who had dropped his change as a result of the group’s inattention to the games. Everyone was staring at the television with their jaws slack. Motoki looked at Mamoru and paused, surprised by the pained, anguished expression on his face. He watched Mamoru’s face as the Queen spoke.

“I have just conferred with Queen Serenity,” Gaea said, a note of disgust in her voice. “She has told me that my son does not remember me.” Mamoru winced as if he’d been slapped. Motoki’s eyes slowly widened. “But my son must sense the pain of this planet. He MUST COME HOME. My husband and I are prepared to reward whosoever can bring my son home.” She paused as the reporters started shrieking questions at her. “Endymion,” she whispered, ignoring the noise. “Endymion, come home. _Please._ I am begging you.”

“Turn it off,” Mamoru choked, burying his face in his hands. “Please, Motoki… turn it off… please… I can’t bear it anymore.”

Motoki didn’t think about it, he just reached up with one hand and turned off the television. The arcade-goers whined and shouted about the interruption but a sharp glare from Motoki made them scurry back to their games. When no one looked their way anymore, Motoki leaned towards Mamoru’s crouched figure.

“What is going on?” he said stubbornly. Mamoru exhaled sharply and looked away, an ashamed, frustrated expression on his face.

“I can’t bear it anymore…” he whispered.

“Why do you care?” Motoki said, a little more harshly than he intended. When Mamoru winced as if struck, Motoki took a moment to calm down. Once he had, he adjusted his tone to a more soothing one. “What is going on?”

“… what would you do…” Mamoru finally said, looking up into Motoki’s face with an intense stare, “if you never had parents…” he paused and looked up at the blank television screen, “your entire life… and then one day, you did. And they wanted you to come home.”

Motoki felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He slowly lifted his face and stared up at the television, the puzzle pieces falling into place. He didn’t know why but it didn’t surprise him at all. In fact, it seemed natural. It was almost like he’d known all along that there was something different about Mamoru. But it couldn’t be… he couldn’t be… the rational part of Motoki’s brain fought to speak over the calm, accepting part that immediately recognized what had been plaguing Mamoru for so long.

“Then I would go home,” Motoki said slowly, looking at Mamoru again. The conversation felt surreal. In the background, the Arcade had gradually gone back to normal. More people had come in since he’d started speaking with Mamoru and the normal hum of voices and the slurping of milkshakes filled the Arcade. These were normal sounds, normal sights. But Mamoru had become a black spot of alien right in front of him and his very presence tainted the normalcy that Motoki had taken for granted. The Mamoru he’d always known had vanished in a matter of moments.

“What if you couldn’t,” Mamoru whispered, staring directly at Motoki now. He seemed desperate for answers, ready and willing to do whatever he was told. Motoki – holy shit my best friend is the Prince of Earth – felt the weight of that trust like a living thing. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. His mind suddenly exploded with that single mantra as the full impact of that one true thought sunk in. He gasped as if he’d been punched, clinging to the bar to keep himself upright. A million resulting thoughts clouded his mind.

“I can’t go home,” Mamoru said, his eyes widening with shame at Motoki’s reaction. He leaned forward, whispering urgently. “I can’t, you don’t understand. It could be a trap. I’ve walked right into hundreds of traps, I’ve been ambushed dozens of times, I’ve died so many times from my own stupid irrational desires. I can’t endanger Usako like that, I just can’t. It would tear her apart if I left her again, I just _can't_ , Motoki. But I… how can't I go?”

Motoki looked up at him with his eyes a little too wide, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of what he could possibly say. Mamoru looked desperate, really desperate.

Then he processed the other part of what Mamoru had said. “You’ve died?”

Mamoru jerked back, clenching his fists on the counter. He took a deep breath and looked down at his hands, clenching and unclenching them.

“Y-Yeah,” he finally whispered. “A lot. It’s not something I want to do again.”

“I guess not,” Motoki said. He paused and thought about it. “It gets expensive, to have multiple funerals.” When Mamoru looked up at him with a frown, Motoki inexplicably started laughing. In a matter of seconds, he was doubled over himself and laughing so hard tears fell from his eyes. Mamoru just stared at him at first but then he too joined in. They rested against the counter, still giggling every few moments until the nervousness left. Motoki felt better after this bout of insanity, grinning at Mamoru.

“I don’t know everything that’s going on,” Motoki said. “But I’m here for you, no matter what you decide.”

“Thanks,” Mamoru said, still grinning. He sobered after a moment and looked back at Motoki with a frown. “I don’t think I’m going to go,” he finally said. “It’s too dangerous, too likely to be a trap.”

“I don’t know how,” Motoki said. “I mean, if people have been trying to kill you for a while, wouldn’t they have tried something like this before? I don’t remember any aliens showing up and begging you to come see them in front of national television.” Mamoru shook his head slowly.

“You have met some before, you know,” Mamoru said. Motoki blinked and opened his mouth.

“I’ve met some what? Aliens?” he asked. Mamoru nodded. Motoki snorted. “Yeah right, I think I would have noticed!”

“Oh yeah?” Mamoru said, a challenge in his voice. “Alright then, do you remember Ali and En? They went to school with Usako about two years ago…”

“Ali and En?” Motoki said, wracking his brain for their faces.

“Oh wait,” Mamoru said, holding up his hand. “Ali and En were their real names. As humans they posed as Seijuro and Natsumi Ginga.” Motoki thought about it. He remembered Usagi and her friends coming to the Arcade, far more often in those days, remembered seeing Naru and Umino all the time… Ali and En… “Wait, do you mean the brother and sister? Didn’t they do a play with you? Ah… what was it… an American play, wasn’t it?”

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” Mamoru supplied. An image popped into Motoki’s head of distinct, cat-like eyes and a slightly disturbing relationship between a cute girl and her brother. Seijuro and Natsumi, he could even hear their voices as they argued with each other or, in other cases, with Usagi and Mamoru.

“They couldn’t have been aliens,” Motoki said slowly. Mamoru nodded.

“Yup,” he said. “They were even green, though most aliens aren’t actually like that. But yeah, they were aliens. They tried to kill me too, although not because of who I am.” His eyes flicked to the television behind Motoki, who took the hint. They hadn’t known he was the Prince of Earth. “Not too many people know that. En thought she was in love with me,” he blushed at that, half-hiding his face in his hand. His free hand tapped the counter nervously so Motoki, noticing the telltale signs, got Mamoru another cup of coffee and grabbed a stool from under the counter. He made himself comfortable and leaned towards Mamoru, his eyes a little wide.

“I still can’t believe they were aliens,” he said. Mamoru nodded again.

“Do you remember all those weird attacks? Like in the park, or at the theatre, or even that new virtual reality arcade that opened a little after they came? They hit places with big crowds,” Mamoru explained.

“They attacked people?” Motoki said in wonderment, “but why? And how come it never got onto the news, who they were I mean?”

“They weren’t trying to hurt people,” Mamoru said. “They were gathering energy. Everything in this universe works with energy, humans have just been slow to discover its potential.”

“Energy?” Motoki said, frowning. “What do you mean, like heat and light? Are we talking physics now?”

“A little bit, but not in the way you’re thinking,” Mamoru said, sipping some coffee and exhaling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He even smiled a little as he explained. “Every life form in the universe has power. On other planets they’ve realized how to harness that power into something useful. Humans can build things, push things with their will but they don’t use it in the way that I mean.”

“Can you use energy… like you’re talking about?” Motoki asked.

“I can heal things that I touch,” Mamoru said. Motoki slowly blinked, looked down at Mamoru’s hands, then looked back up at him.

“You can?” he asked suspiciously. Mamoru blushed slightly.

“Yeah,” he said. “Since I was really young. It’s one of the reasons I noticed I wasn’t like other people. I’ve kept it a secret for obvious reasons… I didn’t want people to study me like a lab rat.” He shrugged. “It’s a good ability to have, it’s helped a lot in battle.”

“So hang on,” Motoki said. “These battles you’re talking about. Do you mean battles against aliens like… like Ali and En? Is that what you mean?” Mamoru fidgeted for a moment and thought about how to answer.

“I have been fighting to protect the Earth for several years now,” he said. “You saw the press conferences… I’m reincarnated. I had a life before this, as a protector of this planet. Before, when the Earth was still in contact with other planets, it was my duty to fight. When I was reincarnated, I wasn’t supposed to remember anything. But the thing is… enemies began to attack the planet. Ali and En tried to take energy from people because they thought it was the only way to survive. They didn’t actually intend for their actions to necessarily kill people. But there were other enemies, other much more powerful enemies who intended only to destroy this planet and all other life in the universe. And I’ve been trying to keep that from happening.”

“… while maintaining your amazing grade point average?” Motoki said. He didn’t know why that particular thought slipped out of his mind and out of his mouth. He was going a little crazy trying to absorb the fact that his best friend was not only a prince but a superhero who had saved not only Earth but the entire universe at some point. Still, the annoyed, selfish part of him wanted to know how he could fit that into his rigorous studying regime to keep up his grades the way he did. Not to mention his adorable, beautiful girlfriend. It wasn’t really fair.

Mamoru just stared at him, too stunned to laugh. Motoki took that in and changed tactics. “Who else was an alien and I didn’t notice?” he asked. Mamoru, back on familiar territory, thought about it.

“Do you remember that circus, the Dead Moon Circus, that showed up after the Solar Eclipse?” he asked.

“… it doesn’t surprise me that they were aliens,” Motoki said, his eyes a little wide. He’d taken Reika to one of their shows and they’d left feeling exhausted. Energy… did they steal energy from him and Reika? “Is Umino an alien?” he asked. Mamoru snorted. Coffee came out of his nose and he struggled to clear his throat. Motoki, instead of helping him, just laughed. What an image for the Prince of Earth.

Every time he thought it, the image became a little easier to bear. This was still Mamoru, this was still his best friend. Sure, he had a crown. Sure, he saved the universe. But he still spewed coffee from his nose when he laughed in the middle of a joke, just like any other human being. It was refreshing.

“Umino is, surprisingly, human,” Mamoru said with a snicker once he’d cleaned up his face. “Although I had my suspicions for a while.”

“Yeah, me too. I’m going to suspect everyone of being an alien in disguise now!” Motoki said with a laugh. He abruptly stopped when another thought occurred to him. “You’ll tell me if someone is an alien, right?” he asked.

“From now on, I will,” Mamoru said with a smirk. “Although… I can’t tell you every single person who used to be an alien.”

“Used to?” Motoki blinked. “What do you mean, “used to”? How can someone be an alien and then not be an alien?”

“Remember the reincarnation thing?” Mamoru said. “I wasn’t the only one reincarnated. Everyone on the moon during an attack was an alien. I was the only human reincarnated, technically.”

“Oh,” Motoki said, his eyes wide. “Oh, that’s what the Queen meant… er, I mean your mother.” Mamoru winced so Motoki jumped ahead. “I mean, when she and the other lady said that the people who are reborn are completely human now and have no memories. But you have your memories, which means they must too, right?”

“The Senshi do,” Mamoru said.

“The what?” Motoki blinked. His eyes widened even more. “Wait a minute… you mean… Sailor Moon? And all the Senshi? They’re aliens?” the idea seemed so bizarre, Motoki nearly fell off his stool. Mamoru nodded and drained the last of his coffee. The Sailor Senshi… aliens. Motoki had to digest that one. They had always protected Tokyo, it was true, but they had always seemed like a joke really. They wore those short skirts and said outrageous lines and acted nothing like aliens as far as Motoki was concerned. They seemed so human it was scary sometimes, like teenage girls.

“Each Senshi,” Mamoru said, breaking into Motoki’s thoughts, “comes from their respective planet. Sailor Mercury, for example, is the princess of Mercury. She’s human now but in our previous lives, she wasn’t human.”

“Do I know them?” Motoki asked, his face turning bright red. He always blabbed his mouth about how amazing the Senshi were and how beautiful… how many times had he totally embarrassed himself? Mamoru smiled weakly.

“I don’t understand how no one ever figures out who they are. It’s so obvious… once you think about it.” He arched an eyebrow and looked at Motoki, a challenge in his stare. Motoki blinked, surprised by the gesture. Then he frowned and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about it. Obvious? Okay… it couldn’t be hard to figure out. If Mamoru was the prince and the Senshi were humans but were once aliens… but who did he know who could be an alien? Hell, he’d thought Umino was an alien and he’d had no clue about the brother and sister Mamoru mentioned…

Who could the Senshi be? They were such a huge group now… five girls. Five girls. Five girls… two blonde, two with black hair, one with brown hair… five girls. Five girls. Five… oh my god.

“Oh my god,” Motoki said, slamming his fist on the counter. Mamoru didn’t jump, just stared at him. “You’re kidding. You are kidding me. You are joking with me, you are NOT being serious right now!” Motoki said, breathing hard. THE GIRLS! _FIVE_ GIRLS! How could he be so blind! How could he be so stupid! Five girls… “Oh my god,” Motoki groaned, cupping his face in his hands. “They’re so normal! So… human!”

“They are human…” Mamoru said. Motoki lifted his head and stared at him incredulously. Mamoru turned his face away, frowning, “now anyway. They’re still the same people, you know.”

“You’re Tuxedo Mask,” Motoki said, the pieces falling into place. Mamoru, walking in half dead and demanding coffee to stay awake. Mamoru, always protecting Usagi. Mamoru, watching the news like a hawk and jumping at the most trivial news reports. Mamoru, a superhero right in front of him. “I am such an idiot.”

“If it was so easy to figure us out, our enemies would have killed us long ago,” Mamoru said gently. Motoki looked up at Mamoru’s caring blue eyes and slowly relaxed. Mamoru half grinned and shrugged. “It isn’t easy but it’s worth it. If we let our enemies defeat us, they would kill everything we love. We fight to protect what we love… our families, our friends… we cannot fail. It is not something we can allow.”

“The times you’ve died,” Motoki whispered. “You were protecting us.”

“Yes,” Mamoru said, with the weight of the world in his voice. The envy that had been creeping slowly, poisonously into Motoki’s heart instantly vanished and a deep sense of gratitude filled him instead. He slowly exhaled.

“And you’ve decided that an idiot like me should be your best friend?” Motoki asked, because there was still a little selfishness there. He’d always thought that Mamoru would never survive without his close friends, Motoki being one of the closest. But now he knew that Mamoru not only could but did survive without anyone’s help.

“I’ve known you for a long time,” Mamoru said, grinning. “And I know you’ll always be honest with me, especially when I’m being a jerk. And I know you’ll call me on it every time, no matter who I am. I want that honesty now more than ever. And I… I’ve always wanted to tell you because I can’t trust anyone else with my secret. Especially now… especially with everything so out in the open.”

“Yeah…” Motoki said with a blinding grin. The happiness swelling within him was hard to contain. The trust in Mamoru’s eyes was extremely rare and only ever directed at Usagi. Now it was directed at him and he felt that sense of honor he’d felt when Mamoru first opened up to him. “I’ll do my best,” he said. “But you have to explain the whole thing to me, from the very beginning. And I’ll help you figure this whole thing out… with your, er, with the King and Queen of Earth and all of it. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Mamoru said, a blistering grin on his face. “That sounds great.”

“There’s just one thing I have to ask,” Motoki said. Mamoru arched an eyebrow.

“Oh? And what’s that?” he asked.

“Are you sure Umino isn’t an alien?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little clarification if you don’t recognize the names: Ali and En (thank you DavisJes for the correction) are from the Makaiju Aliens story arc, or the Doom Tree series. In the English dub their names are Alan and Ann.


	8. The Gift of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a cup of coffee in one hand and his forehead in the other, Adonis leaned against the counter while counting down from a hundred. His head was pounding and there was no proof that the reason for the annoyance would vanish any time soon.
> 
> There were no windows in the compound. Overhead lights gave the place a sense of perpetual daytime and, while the individual rooms bathed their occupants in darkness, the work areas were always lit. Since most of the scientists were – through force of habit or general personality – night owls, there had been a policy instated that personnel were expected to work a total of ten hours a day at any time during the 24-hour period. Without a sun, this had created an around-the-clock team of experts working on the ruins at all times of the day in a fairly steady stream of people.

With a cup of coffee in one hand and his forehead in the other, Adonis leaned against the counter while counting down from a hundred. His head was pounding and there was no proof that the reason for the annoyance would vanish any time soon.

There were no windows in the compound. Overhead lights gave the place a sense of perpetual daytime and, while the individual rooms bathed their occupants in darkness, the work areas were always lit. Since most of the scientists were – through force of habit or general personality – night owls, there had been a policy instated that personnel were expected to work a total of ten hours a day at any time during the 24-hour period. Without a sun, this had created an around-the-clock team of experts working on the ruins at all times of the day in a fairly steady stream of people.

The only time that remained mysteriously quiet as everyone fell asleep for a few hours was from midnight until three in the morning. At all other times, there was at least one person working on translations, questioning the royals, or carbon dating. That was why Adonis liked this time of the day – it was quiet… peaceful. In a way, he hated his boss intruding on that quiet time.

Someone tried to open the door to the conference room. Without looking up from his coffee, Adonis waited for the knock on the door and the firm, “Don’t be stupid,” before he resigned himself to the coming harassment and unlocked the door. When he looked up from his coffee to see who had come in, he was a little surprised to see Major George Walters come in with his superior, a snarky French man who kept trying to compete with Adonis. It was not his fault that he had a strange intuitive notion about the language on the ruins – just because the moron couldn’t keep up with him didn’t mean he had to be such a jerk all the time.

“This behavior is very childish,” his boss said, narrowing his eyes. Adonis continued sipping his coffee, keeping his eyes plastered to the wall. He wasn’t going to say anything, not even to snap at the little idiot.

“You were briefed when you came to this facility, Mr. Narcissus,” Major Walters said, a disapproving scowl on his face. Even at two in the morning, the man looked awake, clean shaven, and perfectly ready to be a pain in the ass. Adonis refused to look at him, still staring at the wall. “You know the rules just as well as anyone.”

“Look at the major when he is speaking to you,” the idiot chirped, his body tense.

“Thank you, Andre,” Major Walters said in a soothing but firm voice. “I would like to speak with him in private.” He didn’t move at first. Then, taking the hint, he ducked out of the room muttering something in French. Adonis did not take the time to mentally translate the insult, although the meaning was clear.

“Adonis,” Major Walters said with a sigh. He rubbed his square chin, a tired expression finally entering his eyes, making the wrinkles show a little deeper. “You know that breaking the rules is strictly prohibited. I had thought that you of all people would know that, having been here so long. Especially after the fiasco the other day…”

Adonis clenched his jaw, finally lowering his gaze to the floor. It wasn’t quite fair to use shame the way the Major so skillfully did on a daily basis. Then again, the shame wasn’t crafted just for his benefit. The fiasco he had been referring to was not a made up one. Everyone had been on edge ever since it had happened. He couldn’t even blame his boss for that, much as he wanted to. Everyone had been on edge for the past week.

The first of the freaks had shown up on Monday, bright and early. A man of about thirty with stylish black hair and blue eyes had shown up at the gate of the compound. He had spoken smoothly and elegantly to the guards, claiming that it was his birthright to enter into the place where his parents were waiting for him. He got through six checkpoints before Queen Gaea got to a security panel. When she did, her joyful expression froze and the happiness drained completely out of her. When her husband hurried to her side, Adonis recalled the cold, empty voice of Gaea.

“That is not my son,” she had said. They didn’t just throw the bastard out – they put his ass in jail. The gossip around the compound had been sympathetic on the side of the monarchs and brutal on the side of the idiot who hadn’t gotten away with something so nasty. Adonis felt sick, thinking of the selfish attitude the stranger had had, trying to take advantage of the pain two parents felt after losing a son. To pretend to be their son just to be famous for a few minutes. It wouldn’t have been nearly as bad though if he hadn’t gone running to the media seconds afterwards. When the media sharks smelled blood in the water, they came running with microphones extended.

That was when the crowds came. It was insane how many hundreds of morons there were on this planet. Most of them came dressed as the prince – or what they thought a prince would look like. Some came in store-bought costumes with plastic crowns and velvet capes that collected dust as they gathered around the gates. Others wore hand-sewn outfits made from very fine material in all different colors, steel swords strapped to Renaissance scabbards. The women were the worst. They all came with blonde hair – whether natural or dyed – and claimed to be the princess of the moon. Queen Serenity’s beautiful face twisted in pain when she saw them and, instead of staying as Queen Gaea did in the hope that her child really was out there, she simply said, “My daughter is not out there,” and locked herself in the sun-lit room.

It was horrible to watch Queen Gaea sit in front of the camera panel, staring at every single face that walked by it begging for admittance. Some were obviously faking it, but others seemed to genuinely think he was the Prince of Earth. The number of loonies was just as plentiful as the number of con artists.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Adonis finally grumbled, lifting his eyes defiantly to glare at Major Walters. The major only grunted as he headed for the coffee machine. He poured some of the drip coffee into a mug from the drying rack, pouring four packets of sweetener into it. He grimaced as he sipped the coffee, his face relaxing slowly.

“No one ever does it on purpose. That’s why you should have been more careful. You are perfectly aware of the rules and, much as I wish it were otherwise, you are not above the rest simply because you were one of the first to work here.” He paused, slowly fingering the rim of the mug. “I understand that you miss your wife. I miss my wife too. But you cannot go around discussing classified information with her.”

Adonis gritted his teeth, lowering his eyes to the floor again. In all the commotion, the regulations for the scientists became stricter. Those who worked the closest with translators could not call their families except for an hour before bed, mostly in the hopes that nothing but pleasantries would be exchanged between families. They were also not permitted to speak of certain subjects – especially anything to do with their research. Two people had already been kicked out for attempting to speak with the media with the threat of lawsuits and jail time. All kinds of rumors and tidbits had escaped the compound and filtered to the various television stations. It was a nightmare, especially after the freaks started showing up.

He hadn’t meant to break the rules. Monica was desperate to know what was going on with him and he couldn’t just tell her nothing was happening when everything they tried to hide was on the news stations. He’d let slip that the ruins felt familiar – like the nightmare he had every night. Ever since he had come here, he hadn’t had any more nightmares, dreaming instead of a strange planet suspiciously close to the sun. He suspected it was Venus from his communications with the Moon Queen but he’d intended to keep the disturbing information to himself, at least for now.

He hadn’t known they were bugging his calls. Two seconds into her questioning, the line went dead and two agents came into the room. They brought him to his boss, he’d gotten chewed out, his phone privileges were rescinded for the time being, and he was pissed. Major Walters had cornered him in the conference room in the hopes of smoothing out his anger while at the same time delivering a warning never to speak out again. It was extremely frustrating.

“It won’t happen again,” Adonis muttered, cupping his empty mug close to his chest. He thought of Monica’s open, smiling face as he stared at the ground, wishing she were with him. Major Walters shifted somewhere out of his vision and then put down his coffee mug.

“I know it won’t,” Major Walters said as he went to the door. “Because if it did, you know what we’ll do to you.” With that last ominous message, he left the room. Adonis quickly moved forward and locked the door, feeling trapped and angry. He stared at the wood, thinking of everything he had found out for those bastards and yet… and yet they were so quick to jump him for one simply slip up. He hadn’t intended to tell Monica anything, caught up in recalling his dreams. Dreams that were extraordinarily similar to this very place with the ruins and the strange alien people.

Someone tried to open the door, surprising Adonis. He looked at the overhead clock beside the employee bathroom, surprised that it was already three in the morning. This meant that the archaeologists were awake and moving around.

With a sigh, he finally went to unlock the door. The sour face of one of the archaeologists softened when he saw Adonis. He muttered a soft apology and headed for the coffee machine as if it were the fountain of youth. Feeling cramped in the suddenly occupied room, Adonis left the room and headed out to the latest batch of artifacts the recent Russian astronauts had brought back with them. There was mention of a crystal shrine being on board and everyone was eager to get dibs on the new material.

As he passed the security station, he felt a wave of pain. Queen Gaea sat with her face plastered to the screen, staring at faces. “Not him,” she whispered. “Not him…”

...

The sun slanted in through the windows of the Arcade, turning everything a warm shade of red. Minako half-closed her eyes as she sipped her iced tea through a large straw, resting her head against both closed fists. She was supposed to meet Rei for a snack after volleyball practice but Rei had canceled at the last second.

“My dad wants to visit,” Rei’s huffy voice through the communicator indicted what she thought of this. “He never comes by so grandpa is getting in all the yelling now before we get to dinner. We can go tomorrow, okay?” Sure, they could go tomorrow, Minako had said with a cheerful smile. When she turned off the communicator, the smile dropped and she sighed, feeling as if she’d lost a whole day. It was difficult to catch up with Rei since the other girl was the only one who didn’t go to the same school as the rest of the Senshi. Minako had made a point of scheduling time to hang out with her, especially when she knew Rei was having a rough time at school. Minako remembered all too well what it was like being at a school where everyone criticized you and without friends.

Makoto had stayed behind to help someone with a home economics assignment and Ami, of course, was working on some computer program at home. She claimed it would help the Senshi with strategy against a possible youma attack, so both Luna and Artemis were off at her house working with her on it. As for Usagi… well, she was still stuck at home studying her brains out. She’d done phenomenally well on her exams thus far but her mother worried it was just a fluke. The constant nagging and phone calls from her father had guilted Usagi into studying even more, just to stop their worrying. Which left Minako alone, sitting in the Arcade with nothing to do.

Not that Minako minded being on her own, she reflected. She’d spent so many years alone as Sailor V, going to cafes by herself, pretending to wait for someone while she listened for any rumors about youma attacks. Still… she’d really been looking forward to chatting with Rei. As close as Minako felt to Usagi, she felt a strange pull to Rei that she didn’t share with any of the other girls. Makoto and Ami often paired off together, whether consciously or not, and often left Minako and Rei to speak between each other. That and Minako seemed to be the only one who made Rei laugh and relax a little. Without her insanity, Rei had often said, she wouldn’t have stayed sane in school.

“Minako,” a voice interrupted her thoughts. Minako blinked and looked up into Umino’s determined, much-too-close face. Minako shrieked, jerked back, and threw her drink in his face. Umino remained frozen where he was, blinking in astonishment. Minako gasped and clutched her chest, steadying her racing heart with deep breaths.

“What are you doing? Trying to give me a heart attack?” she demanded once the adreneline spiking her blood began to subside. She took a deep breath and relaxed, then noticed that liquid was dripping from his chin onto his uniform. “Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry Umino! Here,” she hurriedly grabbed a fistful of napkins and dabbed his face with them. He mechanically took them and rubbed his face with them, taking off his glasses and cleaning them as well. He squinted at Minako, obviously blind without the trifocals, then placed them back on his nose.

“I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. “I didn’t realize you weren’t paying attention. Please forgive me!” he bowed, his shoulders trembling. Minako blinked and stopped dabbing at him with the napkins.

“Umino, relax,” she said at last. “It’s my fault, I’m sorry.” She looked around to see if anyone had noticed them but no one paid them any mind. Minako smiled and scooted into the booth, waving at him. “Come on, relax. Sit down. What’s on your mind?”

Umino slowly relaxed his stiff bow and looked up at her, a faint blush coloring his face. “Um… thanks,” he said. With a final dab at his chin, Umino slid into the booth and stared down at his hands with the crumbled napkins. He bit his lip and glanced nervously at her once her twice but otherwise didn’t move. Minako waited for him to say something but, when he remained stonily silent, she scrambled for anything to break the silence.

“So,” she said cheerfully, “I thought you had a Computer Club meeting or something?”

“There isn’t any meeting today,” Umino said in a subdued voice. He pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and glanced at her nervously again. “Ami would have told you that… um, but that isn’t why I came to talk to you.”

“Eh?” Minako said, frowning. Umino didn’t elaborate, only twisted the napkin between his fingers until he’d shredded it. Minako continued to wait but Umino only continued to shred. “What did you want to talk to me about?” Minako finally caved, peering at Umino thoughtfully.

“Um,” was all he managed to say. He gulped and continued shredding, his face turning bright red. “I was wondering…” he said slowly, “if maybe… you might possibly… um… that is to say… I was hoping that you might… um…”

Minako’s eyebrows shot up. For a crazy moment, she thought she knew what he was going to ask her. But he couldn’t be thinking what she thought he was thinking! Umino was head over heels in love with Naru! They’d been together for as long as Minako had known them! And while Naru wasn’t so open about it, Umino made no secret of his undying affection for Naru and at every possible opportunity would declare his love to anyone close enough to hear it, including total strangers and small children. It was enough that even Minako, the Queen of Romantic Crap – as Rei put it – felt a little nauseous every time she saw the two together. So why in the world would Umino be so nervous around Minako? If he was going to ask her out… but what could that mean?!

Minako tried not to throw up a little in her mouth as Umino continued struggling for words. She had to do something about this… stop him before he really embarrassed himself trying to declare his undying love and devotion to her. As irresistible and gorgeous as Minako was – she told herself modestly – she just couldn’t go around breaking hearts, especially the hearts of people like Umino who had wonderful girlfriends like Naru. As she rehearsed various ways of turning him down gently, Umino continued to struggle with himself. He finally took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and blurted it out.

“WOULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME A MAKEOVER?” he practically screamed. Minako, more surprised than relieved, just stared at him, half way through a brilliant speech about the power of love and redemption of trying to work harder at an already existing relationship. When she realized that half the people in the Arcade were now staring at them, she turned bright red and slid lower on the booth. Umino, relieved to have gotten the words out, only sighed softly.

“Um…” Minako said. “Why do you want a makeover?”

Umino had gone back to shredding the napkins left in his hands. When he couldn’t tear the pieces into smaller ones, he just grabbed a new one and started again. He finally looked up into Minako’s inquiring eyes and said, “Because I want to be good-looking.” He looked back down at his hands. “For Naru,” he added.

“For Naru?” Minako said, tilting her head curiously. This sounded worse than her assumption that Umino was secretly in love with her! Truthfully, it was a good thing he wasn’t. She wouldn’t have been able to handle Naru’s hatred otherwise. “What do you mean? You’ve been dating her for years now and she loves you just the way you are. Why would you want to change if there’s nothing wrong with the relationship?”

“Because,” was all Umino said, but there was a note of steel in his voice. Minako had never heard Umino angry so the sound surprised her. He didn’t say anything more, slowly stilling his fingers and just staring glumly at the countertop.

“What is it?” Minako asked, frowning. The longer she stared at him, the more she felt she already knew. Minako wasn’t stupid or unobservant, despite her flights of fancy on occasion. Even though she was new to the circle of friends that went to school with Usagi and the rest, she’d been accepted without question by those who were already popular. It wasn’t anything too surprising since she was a good-looking, athletic, and out-going girl. This didn’t stop rumors from spreading about her, of course, but she could turn away from harsh words when her friends loved and supported her no matter what anyone said. Who cared if people thought she was full of herself? Usagi admired her, Makoto laughed at all her corny jokes, Rei purposefully turned down invitations to go out with other friends in favor of spending time with her instead, and even Ami relaxed when they went shopping together and revealed all the best gossip she heard from other nerds in the Computer Club. Minako was too busy having fun to notice the rumors most of the time but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

The thing was… it wasn’t just her that some of the rumors were about. When no one thought she was listening, she’d heard boys make fun of Umino for his geeky glasses, for the way he talked non-stop about computer programs, being in love with Naru, and light refractors. It was something that even the five friends complained about, lovingly of course, but the boys didn’t mean the teasing in a good way. They meant it in a nasty way. Looking at Umino now, miserable and tense, Minako’s heart went out to him. It wasn’t in his nature to be sad or even to care what other people said about him. He put a positive face for the world, brushing off Usagi and Naru’s sometimes mean teasing, but it must have gotten to him. She’d only heard snatches of conversation – he probably heard much worse when no one else was around.

“I’ll do it,” Minako said firmly. “I’ll give you a makeover.” Umino gasped softly.

“Y-You will?” he said, a note of desperation in his voice. Minako nodded firmly.

“Yes, definitely. Starting with those pesky glasses,” she said with a large smile. “Then I can help you with your wardrobe, definitely do something with that hair… I can probably get you some better shoes, fix those broken fingernails, maybe a nice belt? You’re so skinny… I could probably find a nice jacket to bulk you up! Oh, what else?” Minako’s eyes glazed over as she mentally went through all the changes she could do to help Umino’s social life.

“What’s wrong with my glasses?” Umino muttered, pouting.

Unbeknownst to them, at the counter, Mamoru and Motoki had overheard everything. Motoki’s face was a little pale as he stared at Minako’s dazed, super-concentrated look. This meant mortal peril for Umino and, much as he thought the guy was an alien in disguise, he couldn’t abandon him to Minako’s outrageous schemes.

“We have to rescue him,” Motoki whispered to Mamoru. Mamoru arched an eyebrow, also watching Minako’s crazed face.

“He didn’t ask for our help,” Mamoru pointed out, a little grumpily.

“He has no idea what he just got himself into,” Motoki said. “We’re his only hope. Besides, who better than two guys to help him become more manly for Naru?”

“That’s true,” Mamoru allowed grudgingly.

“I could get the pedicure and manicure discounted if we throw in a free dating tip! I just know it!” Minako suddenly said and began laughing maniacally. Even Umino, who tended to be oblivious to such evil laughs, looked a little worried. Motoki could not take this sort of torture too much longer and Mamoru, who knew his best friend was going to explode, finally sighed.

“Fine,” he relented, “but we’re not telling Usako.”

“Why not?” Motoki asked, arching an eyebrow.

“If she knew I helped Minako with one of her crazy makeovers, she’d laugh at me,” he said with a scowl. “Or think I was possessed again.”

“Again?” Motoki said, both eyebrows going up this time.

“I think I’d rather be possessed again,” Mamoru said, looking as if he already regretted his decision. “At least when I was possessed, I didn’t remember anything when I woke up from it.”

“This is a story I’ve got to hear,” Motoki said with a grin.

“Um…” Mamoru said, his face reddening, “okay, I’ll tell you. But I’m warning you right now, it might sound cool to have alien women so infatuated with you that they brainwash you and force you to kiss them. But it really isn’t as cool as it sounds. Trust me.”


	9. Crystal Tokyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not for the first time, Chibi Usa wished that she’d inherited more of her father’s brains than her mother’s when it came to calculus. The subject was pure evil, worse than any youma. She wrote out fractions, kept careful track of variables, factored numbers to their smallest forms, and she still fought to stay afloat with her homework. Numbers were too cold, too complicated for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we've reached the long chapters! We're halfway through now and I can't wait to get to the fun stuff. Enjoy!

Not for the first time, Chibi Usa wished that she’d inherited more of her father’s brains than her mother’s when it came to calculus. The subject was pure evil, worse than any youma. She wrote out fractions, kept careful track of variables, factored numbers to their smallest forms, and she still fought to stay afloat with her homework. Numbers were too cold, too complicated for her.

Reading and analyzing literature? Easy. She could empathize with the characters from books, reason out their motivations, their fears, their dreams. She could make sense of their actions and the consequences of their disastrous choices. To Chibi Usa, they were far more predictable than numbers. After all, there was no such thing as “imaginary” numbers in books – no such thing as negative square roots, line graphs, and logarithms.

She scribbled an answer for the last question without bothering to read the question – not as if she was going to understand it anyway – and put aside her notebook with a sigh. It wasn’t like she had anything more exciting than homework to do at the moment. She hadn’t seen her mother and father in two weeks – there was business on Neptune they absolutely had to take care of and, as her mother had noted, Chibi Usa was old enough now to defend Crystal Tokyo from any attack – and the one time she’d get to see them before they went off to Mars was tonight.

There was a formal banquet in honor of one of the many Earth leaders who her father spoke to regularly and although it would be crowded, she would at least catch a glimpse of them. Feeling petulant and lonely, Chibi Usa reminded herself that she was growing into a lady now, she couldn’t go about throwing a tantrum like she used to years ago.

She had just celebrated her 1,000th birthday, something she thought she’d never get to do, so she should have been celebrating. It was a landmark birthday for Lunarians, Mercury had told her, and should be celebrated. And Chibi Usa WAS celebrating. Really. If she returned to the past now, she would only be a year younger than all the girls. She would be their height now – or perhaps a little taller than Usagi? – and just as physically developed as the rest of them. When she walked into a room now, people didn’t seem surprised that she was the Queen’s daughter. They expected her to be beautiful and now – she hoped – she matched externally what her mother had always told her was inside her from the beginning.

It wasn’t working. She was still feeling petulant and alone. Thinking of Usagi and everyone in the past made her homesick in her own home. It was a difficult sensation, especially because she knew she was never truly comfortable being in just one of the times. If she was there, she missed being in Crystal Tokyo. If she was home, she missed being there. It was especially difficult because there, she was with Usagi every minute of the day. She was driven crazy by how close they were there, constantly in each other’s business and personal life.

In Crystal Tokyo, she barely ever saw her mother anymore, she was so busy. All of them were busy – her mother, her father, the Senshi, even she was busy. The state functions she had to attend were nothing compared to the lessons she learned, everything from Earth to Galaxy etiquette to speaking Lunarian so that everyone could understand one another.

That was just it. She was busy doing all of these grown up things, whereas in the past she could just be a kid. Chibi Usa wasn’t stupid, she knew that was the exact reason her mother allowed her to spend so many months in the past. The Queen missed her daughter fiercely and hated seeing her even less than they did now that she was home, but she also knew what Chibi Usa really needed – and that was to be a regular kid without the burden of so much pressure.

Chibi Usa tapped her pencil on her desk, staring at the wall thoughtfully. She reached into a drawer and pulled out her communicator – slightly beaten up from its many journeys to other countries and planets. She hesitated, reluctant to disturb her parents, then finally activated it.

The screen filled with static at first but then a hologram of a worried face materialized in the air above the screen.

“What’s wrong, Small Lady?” her mother’s voice asked over the seemingly endless miles between them. Chibi Usa released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and smiled, leaning closer.

“Hi, Mama,” she said. “I’m sorry to worry you. I’m fine, everything’s fine. I just wanted to see how you and Papa are doing.” She worried that she’d interrupted something and started to apologize again but her mother’s face broke out into a grin first.

“I can’t tell you how good it is to hear your voice, sweetheart. We’re doing just fine here. It’s a little boring,” here, she rolled her eyes in such a good imitation of her younger self, Chibi Usa laughed, “but very interesting. It’s a complex issue. When we get home, I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Okay,” Chibi Usa said, still grinning. “How’s the beach?” she joked; Neptune did not have beaches, only endless oceans with several floating fortresses that allowed foreigners to come in. When the trip had first came up, Chibi Usa’s father had joked about going to the beach to sunbathe.

“It’s great,” her mother said with a laugh. “Mamo-chan is missing you though. He keeps saying how much you would like it here with all the colorful fish and Neptunian sea life. He misses you almost as much as I do.” Chibi Usa could hear the longing in her mother’s voice and her own throat constricted. She missed them too… She missed them as she had when she was only a hundred years old, crying in a dark room afraid of monsters under the bed.

“Tell Papa when he comes home, he owes me a bedtime story,” Chibi Usa said, faking bravery. Her mother’s face softened as she smiled, tilting her head.

“I thought you said you were too old for those?” she said gently.

“Never from Papa,” Chibi Usa said, her voice cracking. She was crying and she couldn’t seem to stop. “I can’t wait to see you and Papa tonight.”

“We can’t either,” her mother said, the love in her voice so intense that Chibi Usa couldn’t help but smile. “Do you want to talk to him?”

“Yes, please,” Chibi Usa said, sniffling and rubbing her face. Her mother smiled and blew her a kiss before the screen went blank. A moment later, her father’s unmasked face came over the hologram with a warm smile on his face.

“How is my best girl?” he asked softly. Chibi Usa laughed, crying harder. She missed his voice almost as badly as she missed him. “Why the tears, sweetheart? You’re going to see us tonight.”

“I k-know,” Chibi Usa said, inhaling sharply. “It’s the… the calculus.”

Her father winced sympathetically. “I know how you’re feeling, kiddo. Just keep at it – I had trouble too. But don’t worry, even Usako got through it.”

“Hey!” her mother’s voice said indigently somewhere in the background. Chibi Usa and her father chuckled secretively to each other.

“We can’t wait to see you,” her father said with a warm smile. “Don’t work too hard, okay? We’ll spend the whole day with you when we get back from Neptune and Mars, promise.”

“Okay,” Chibi Usa said, brightening a little. “I love you, Papa. And Mama. Have a safe trip.”

“We’ll see you when we get home,” her father said. “Be safe.”

The transmission fizzled out and static filled the room. Chibi Usa sighed softly and turned off her communicator, burying her face in her arms. She didn’t feel petulant and lonely anymore but she still wished that she could be more grown up. She shouldn’t be missing her parents so much, she reasoned, since they were working so hard to make their home a better place. She should take to their example and try to make the world better too. Sitting in her room sulking and crying when they weren’t around was not the sign of a lady… and she so desperately wanted to be a lady.

With a resolute nod, Chibi Usa rose from her desk and walked purposefully towards her closet. Diana, who’d been snoozing in her basket beside Chibi Usa’s bed, flicked an ear in her direction and sat up, yawning. “Mph… is it time for the ball yet?” she asked lazily.

“Not yet,” Chibi Usa said, bracing herself as she opened her closet door. Diana stretched slowly and yawned again, blinking at her.

“Did you finish your work?” Diana asked.

“I,” Chibi Usa said, resolutely ignoring her desk and that entire wall of her room, “am going to get ready for the ball tonight.”

“You never bother to get ready so early,” Diana said, tilting her head. “Is there going to be a boy there you like?”

“No! Of course not!” Chibi Usa said, blushing a little. She felt deflated by the bland stare Diana was giving her and huffed a little, trying to retrieve a little dignity. “I just talked to Mama and Papa and it just got me thinking… I should take this whole dignitary thing a little more seriously. I mean, I can keep doing what I’ve always done and go to these parties wearing the first dress I grab and not worry about how I look. I’m the princess, I can get away with it… but I shouldn’t. I want to make Mama and Papa proud and going to those dinners looking like a slob is not the way to do it.”

“You never look like a slob,” Diana observed.

“But I don’t look my best,” Chibi Usa said, firmly looking through her dresses. They were all beautiful, handcrafted confections created by the best designers in the Solar System. She couldn’t go wrong wearing any of them, which was how she got away without planning these things ahead of time, but she was determined to make a statement. She was going to wow the guests, make a good show for the media, and make her family proud. Yes, that’s what she would do.

She would do her hair, paint her nails, and pick a beautiful gown with matching shoes and jewelry. She would practice what to say, the names of the guests, her wittiest comments, and her curtsy. It was a great way to kill time before she saw her parents and it made her feel as if she was doing something instead of wasting her time. She could have called her best friends Kimiko and Sakura, but they were probably with their parents getting ready for the party already. And while Chibi Usa loved having people around her, it was soothing to chat with Diana while she took the time to glamorize herself. It felt almost like a transformation.

...

There were close to 2,000 guests at the banquet that night. At first, Chibi Usa felt overwhelmed by the sea of people in her normally quiet castle but, after the initial panic subsided, she managed to plaster a smile on her face. Waiters dressed in black tuxedos waltzed through the connecting rooms, balancing golden trays with crystal flutes of champagne. The media blended right in with the various guests, subtly making conversation that would no doubt become top news the next day. Select political figures from other planets slowly arrived, their high-fashion outfits becoming the talk of the party in certain circles.

As she passed the mirror along the main winding staircase into the ballroom, Chibi Usa checked her appearance one last time. She’d curled her hair so that ringlets of pink framed her face and around her ankles. Instead of the regular hairpins she used to maintain her odango hairstyle, she’d used red hairpins with small crystals on the end so that she appeared to wear a crown of rubies. She’d matched this with a flame-colored red gown Mars had given her as a present for her birthday and the coral necklace the Rei from the 21st century had given her for her “thirteenth” birthday. It was a wonderful irony, to have two gifts given by the same person from different time periods and it made her feel powerful and gorgeous, just like Mars, as she ascended the stairs to the party.

Her appearance was visibly striking, as all who saw her immediately stepped back and stared. She lifted her chin, feeling suddenly shy and vulnerable under the scrutiny and admiration of so many people. Before she had a chance to back away, two mischievous blue heads appeared from the crowd and shrieked when they saw her.

Kimiko and Sakura, both decked in matching blue gowns that complimented the blue streaks in their hair, grabbed her and pulled her into the crowd. Everyone continued to stare and while Chibi Usa blushed, the girls immediately began talking at top speed.

“You foxy lady! We didn’t know you’d go all out and look good tonight! Now we look like we didn’t try hard enough,” Kimiko said, sighing. Chibi Usa glanced down at the intricate blue swirls of henna over her hands, an activity that probably took several hours to do. She didn’t point this out, however, letting Kimiko pride herself on looking as if she didn’t care about such things. “Are you trying to impress a boy?”

“Don’t start in on her,” Sakura interrupted, rolling her eyes before Chibi Usa could respond. “You know her, doesn’t like any boy. No one is good enough for Small Lady, oh no! All she talks about is the past and how the boys there are so much cuter and how they like her for her and not because she’s the Princess of all that.” She gestured vaguely behind her to include it into the conversation. Chibi Usa took the gesture to mean that she was princess of the buffet table. “She probably got all glammed up to impress the media.”

“Oh yeah,” Kimiko said thoughtfully. “Mom did mention something about a lot of media people being here.”

“Everyone loves the royal family,” Sakura agreed, rolling her eyes.

“They love Mama and Papa,” Chibi Usa interrupted. “They always look so good at these events.”

“And now you do too,” Sakura said with a mischievous smirk. “I bet they’ll do a full-page spread on your wardrobe tonight. “Reclusive Princess Turned It Girl.” I can see the headlines already.”

“Gag me,” Chibi Usa said with a slightly mortified laugh.

“Don’t get all antsy, you know Merle is going to come after you if they do. She’s been working on some big fashion line and if she thinks you’ll get people to buy her clothes, you won’t be able to wear anything else for months,” Sakura warned.

“She’s already gotten Ursula to wear her handbags all over the galaxy,” Kimiko said with another eye roll.

“That’s because Ursula always travels everywhere and she’s cheap, so getting free bags to put the phone numbers of all her boyfriends into seems like an obvious choice,” Chibi Usa said with a laugh. The other girls grinned.

“Speak of the devil…” Sakura said. Chibi Usa reluctantly followed their gazes and watched a clear space form for a girl in the crowd. She was a vision in gold and fiery orange, her long blonde hair curled into perfect ringlets down her back. She wore a large orange stone around her neck and an even larger collection of diamonds around her wrists and fingers.

“I hope she doesn’t fall in the fountain,” Sakura muttered, “she’d probably sink faster than you can say “tacky.” Who is she trying to impress anyway?”

“Princess Small Lady,” Ursula said demurely, cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through melted butter. She wore heels tall enough to make most girls cry, so that she towered over Chibi Usa and matched Sakura and Kimiko’s impressive height. Chibi Usa smiled politely, reminding herself that she was a lady now, all grown up, and that Ursula was a close family friend. It would not be lady-like at all to gossip with Kimiko and Sakura about how she’d gotten her hands on yet another showy gown. It looked more expensive than all the diamonds she was wearing – it probably was too.

“Princess Ursula,” Chibi Usa said politely.

“It is wonderful to see you again,” Ursula said, her voice resonant and clear. “It has been far too long,” here she paused as a photographer took a picture of the four girls, then continued, “I do love that gown. It brings out your eyes.”

“Thank you,” Chibi Usa said, smiling politely.

“This is the part where you compliment her for her dress,” Sakura said loudly. Ursula’s eyes narrowed but otherwise her expression remained the same, completely fixated on Chibi Usa’s face. Kimiko made a face that Chibi Usa resolutely ignored.

“It is a lovely dress,” Chibi Usa said in a pacifying voice. Part of her wanted Ursula to get lost already. She was a snob, especially rude to Sakura and Kimiko, and she flaunted her planet’s wealth to the extreme. ‘No,’ she reminded herself firmly, ‘You are not going to be petty anymore. Lady – remember you’re trying to behave like a lady now. Be polite, be warm.’ “Who gave it to you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a pretty dress.”

“My aunt gave it to me,” Ursula said with a slight sneer. “Venus,” she added as clarification.

“Oh! How is she?” Chibi Usa asked, immediately warming. Talking about Venus always made her feel happy. If she could stick to conversations about one of her favorite people, she could get through any ordeal with Ursula. Unused to anything but cold politeness from Chibi Usa, Ursula blinked in surprise.

“She’s doing well… visiting Mother and Father,” she said. “Aunt Venus always had amazing taste…”

“Oh, I know!” Chibi Usa gushed, her eyes lighting up. “She’s always been wonderful with anything to do with fashion. Is she happy to be on Venus again?”

“I… yes,” Ursula said, still looking a little surprised. “I… she wanted to visit and take me out for a while, to get away from my cousins. She doesn’t get to see me too often but she always makes it special when she does. She took me to see an opera with her and then when we finished, we went out for ice cream at a little restaurant she knows in London. I’d never been to London and it was such a beautiful place I… I really enjoyed it.”

“Did you know she lived in London when she was very young?” Chibi Usa asked cheerfully, pleased by her conversation. It had worked! She’d been mature and patient and now she could converse with Ursula in whole paragraphs instead of monosyllable words.

“I didn’t know she lived there, I thought she lived in Crystal Tokyo her whole life,” Ursula said, her eyes widening. “But it does explain how she knew her way around London.”

“Crystal Tokyo wasn’t around when she was younger,” Chibi Usa explained.

“Um, sorry to interrupt,” Kimiko said with a slight grin, “but Crystal Tokyo has been around for centuries, including when Venus and the other Senshi were growing up.”

“It was just called Tokyo back then,” Chibi Usa explained. “And it was completely different. They grew up thinking they were human. They traveled as humans, lived as humans… had human lives too.”

“I just can’t imagine that,” Sakura said with a grin. “I mean, all the Senshi and the Queen and everyone being human. It’s hard to imagine them being our age.”

“I try to imagine it sometimes,” Ursula said slowly, glancing from Sakura to Chibi Usa. When she got a smile from Chibi Usa, she shyly continued. “I think it would be a little like London… walking from place to place. Very primitive.”

“There was a lot of walking,” Chibi Usa acknowledged, “but it was a really interesting time. The people of Earth were pretty much the same as they are now… humans haven’t changed much.”

“And how would you know?” Ursula demanded, arching an eyebrow.

“Because Small Lady’s been there,” Sakura said, wriggling her eyebrows.

“Been where?” Ursula asked, failing to keep the disgust from her voice. She and Sakura always ended up like this – fighting without really fighting. Sakura loved getting a rise out of Ursula, who was brought up to be so lady-like that she couldn’t even tell her own cousin to piss off. Hence, the whole reason Sakura acted like such a brat around Ursula. Chibi Usa intervened before it could get nasty.

“I’ve been to the 21st century for my Senshi training,” she explained. “Mama and Papa have let me go back every now and then.”

“You train in the past? A thousand years in the past?” Ursula demanded, her eyes widening. “That’s… but that’s… how? Wouldn’t you… I don’t know, create a time paradox? How could you go into the past without totally altering the future?”

“As it turns out,” Chibi Usa said, “my going into the past is actually part of the past. I spoke with Mama about it and she showed me some pictures of when she was our age and I was in a lot of them. I saw the pictures before I went back and had them taken, so it all happened before I showed up.”

“Literally and metaphorically,” Kimiko said with a grin.

“You’ve met the Queen? When she was our age?” Ursula demanded, sounding fascinated and slightly terrified. “What… what was she like?”

“Usagi is a total klutz,” Chibi Usa said, making a face. Sakura spit out her drink and Kimiko laughed as if she hadn’t meant to. Ursula just stared at her.

“You’re kidding,” she said firmly.

“No, I’m not,” Chibi Usa said. “Wish I was… my mom is a total klutz in the past. She’s a crybaby, whines all the time, she’s late to everything, gets bad grades all the time because she never studies, and she’s a complete mess.” Chibi Usa paused, thinking of Usagi. She could see her grinning face now, could feel her arms around her in a tight hug, could sense her sleeping right next to her in their shared bed. She smiled, missing her fiercely. “And she’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“I can’t believe it,” Ursula said at last, her eyes a little wide. “I can’t believe she’d be all those things…”

“What’s your dad like?” Sakura asked, her eyes lighting up.

“He is exactly the same,” Chibi Usa said with a sigh. “Completely the same. He studies a lot for school… puts up with my mom. They’re dating in the past and it’s a little weird sometimes.” Chibi Usa frowned. “Kind of like… spying on them.”

“What’s my dad like?” Kimiko asked.

There was a commotion close to them and a loud squeal. A streak of blonde hair was the only warning before a girl pushed her way through the crowd and tackled Chibi Usa. “You’re here!” she said excitedly, her blue eyes dancing with happiness.

“Merle,” Chibi Usa said, grinning as she hugged her friend.

“Don’t kill her!” Sakura said teasingly. “We only just started talking about something interesting!”

“Oh! Tell me, tell me!” Merle said, stepping back and bouncing on her toes. This was impressive as she was wearing heels as tall as Ursula’s in black. She wore a short dress with a splash of green color across one shoulder and black over the rest of her body. She’d styled her blonde hair into a tight bun with a feathered brooch. It looked utterly ridiculous until you stood back and really looked at her. Merle always managed to look stunning in anything, especially her own designs.

“You have a new bag?” Ursula said, sounding slightly put-out. Merle gasped and whirled on her, holding it out proudly.

“Yes! I do! And I sent it to you last week so it should be arriving in time for Venus’s Solstice! I thought I’d surprise you but now you know and we can go shopping together to buy matching shoes,” Merle gushed. Ursula, mollified by this enthusiasm, grinned back at her.

“It looks wonderful,” Chibi Usa agreed, admiring the bag. She liked the look of it, although she didn’t use bags as much as she would have liked to, and she knew what the compliment would do. Merle swooned dramatically and grabbed Chibi Usa’s shoulders. Swooping down, she gave her a kiss on each cheek and winked.

“You know just what to say to make a girl feel appreciated. But look at you! All dolled up and didn’t bother to mention it to little old me? I’m hurt. Who are you trying to impress anyway? Do I know him?” 

“Is he hot?” Sakura added slyly. Merle craned her neck, peering over the sea of faces in search of some unknown man.

“How many times,” Chibi Usa huffed, “do I have to tell you that I didn’t dress up for anyone? I just wanted to look nice tonight!”

“Don’t tell me you dressed up for your parents,” Ursula said, her lip twitching in amusement. Kimiko laughed and then covered her mouth, sharing what must have been her first civil look with an equally amused Ursula. It had been ages since they had all been together like this – maybe that was why they felt brave enough to tease her? Chibi Usa glared at them.

“On second thought,” Chibi Usa said, her face turning bright red, “yeah, I dressed up for a guy. That’s it, that’s the reason.”

“Is he good-looking?” Sakura needled, smirking wickedly.

“Of course,” Chibi Usa said primly. “Why would I dress up for an ugly guy? Anyway, I’m sure he’s very good-looking, smart, funny…”

“You’re describing your father so far,” Merle observed.

“- does not have dark hair,” Chibi Usa supplied quickly.

“I hope I don’t meet this man,” an amused, deep voice said from behind her. Chibi Usa instantly blushed from the top of her pink head to her toes. It hadn’t been a girl’s voice that had spoken and, judging by the flabbergasted expressions on Kimiko, Sakura, Merle, and even Ursula’s faces, there was someone extremely good-looking behind her. Oh crap.

Chibi Usa slowly turned around, fighting down her blush. A man was indeed standing behind her, a large smile on his face and in his golden eyes. He wore a gold-colored tuxedo with a red rose in the lapel, his hands clasped behind his back. Wild golden hair flared around his face, drawing attention to his high cheekbones and perfect lips. His face was so familiar, Chibi Usa immediately blanked on his name. He chuckled at her fish-out-of-water expression and tilted his head, a strand of that golden hair falling over his eyes.

“I wouldn’t be very pleasant,” he added, his deep, amused voice reaching a cord in her. “In fact, I would be downright nasty to any man who could capture my beautiful maiden’s attention.”

Chibi Usa gasped. She knew who he was. And it was impossible. Without stopping to think, she threw herself at him. He didn’t seem surprised by the action, however, and only lifted her up and spun her in a circle. Chibi Usa laughed, delighted.

“Helios!” she practically screamed. Several people nearby were staring and one or two reporters had begun snapping pictures. Chibi Usa ignored them as he set her on her feet, staring up at him. “I can’t believe it! Is it really you?”

“I’m glad you remember me,” Helios said, a wide grin threatening to break his face in half. “I haven’t seen you in… well, a long time.”

“What are you doing here?” Chibi Usa demanded, tightening her arms around his neck. “I thought I would never see you again.”

Helios’s smile softened and something in his eyes – he looked so different! – darkened as he stared at her. “I could not go forever without seeing you again, maiden. That would be agony.”

Chibi Usa inhaled slowly. The words made her feel warm again, as his voice had moments ago. She slowly released him and stepped back, still smiling but feeling a little confused now. Merle cleared her throat loudly, making Chibi Usa jump. The four girls were still behind her, all gawking at Helios. Even Ursula hadn’t bothered to look coy or demure as she normally did around men, instead fighting not to let her jaw drop again.

“Oh!” she said. “Helios, these are my friends – Kimiko, Sakura, Ursula, and Merle. Guys, this is Helios. He and I met in the 21st century.”

“Small Lady saved my life,” Helios said, smiling gently at her. “It is an honor to meet her friends.” He bowed, offering to kiss each of their hands. Ursula, returning to her senses, made certain to look bashful when he got to her. Sakura blatantly stared at him while Kimiko and Merle whispered excitedly to each other.

“He was the one who saved me,” Chibi Usa said with a happy blush. “A whole lot more often than I did.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sakura said, half in a daze. When Helios spoke a greeting to Merle, Sakura leaned towards Kimiko and muttered, “I’d let him rescue me any day.”

“I wish I could stay,” Helios said, obvious regret in his voice, “but I promised to speak with Jupiter and Mars concerning important matters. I will see you later tonight,” he stared at Chibi Usa as he spoke, his lips curving into a smile. The girls – including Chibi Usa – melted a little. “I know its difficult, but don’t impress any other men while I’m gone.” He slid into the crowd and Chibi Usa followed his golden head for a few moments before he was gone.

“What…” Kimiko said.

“Was that?” Sakura squealed. “You didn’t say anything about meeting a hot guy in the past!”

“Who is he? I’ve never seen him before!” Ursula said in an excited whisper. Chibi Usa mentally thought that she should keep them all hating each other – this whole ganging up on her thing was terrible for her nerves. Not to mention her eardrums.

“I met him when I was like, twelve!” Chibi Usa said, her face still burning. “And like I said, he really did save my life! He’s the Guardian of Elysium and the Golden Crystal.”

“He’s hot,” Merle said. “Did you see his ass?”

“Ngh,” Chibi Usa said, turning bright red again.

“I wish I could see more than that,” Sakura grinned.

“Did you see his hair,” Ursula whispered, her eyes wide and gleeful. “It was so perfect…”

“I bet he’s nice too,” Kimiko said dreamily. All the girls stared at Kimiko and she blinked, looking from Sakura to Ursula. “Um… I’m just saying…”

Chibi Usa wasn’t sure how to handle this particular situation. She’d seen Makoto and Minako gush over boys in the 21st century but this felt very different. She wasn’t around her current friends nearly long enough to have these kinds of conversations about boys. Not that conversations with her friends in the present didn’t revolve around boys – they just normally revolved around boys who were interested in them. Much as Chibi Usa felt embarrassed to notice, Helios had eyes only for her tonight. It was… exhilarating, confusing, and very weird. It was also a little fun to hear them praising his good lucks, although she quickly regretted her enjoyment when Sakura and Ursula began to speculate about things they hand’t seen.

“I’m going to find my parents,” Chibi Usa said, turning bright red when they grilled her more on Helios. Merle followed her but didn’t ask questions, only looped her arm through Chibi Usa’s and hummed to herself as they edged past partygoers. 

“I want details when you get back!” Sakura said threateningly as they walked away. Kimiko and Ursula were deep in conversation, obviously about Helios, and Chibi Usa wondered just how crazy their theories about him would get while she wasn’t there to subdue them. Ah well, she thought.

Chibi Usa and Merle mingled with the group of people closest to the floor to ceiling windows overlooking Crystal Tokyo, sparing a few minutes here and there for polite conversation with the guests. Even as people spoke, their gazes continuously drifted out the window to take in the darkened sky, the endless stars, and the city lights below. It was one of the best features of the Crystal Palace – something Chibi Usa lived with and saw every day. Still, it took her breath away every time. The people, even distracted, had no problem keeping the girls for about an hour in mindless conversation. It felt like an endless row of people but Chibi Usa didn’t mind, as she always enjoyed spending time with Merle.

Kimiko and Sakura were great fun, especially in social situations, and Ursula was turning out not to be so bad after all, but Chibi Usa always got along well with Merle. The two were different in many ways but in character, they complimented each other well. Merle understood Chibi Usa’s moods and kept her from getting down on herself while Chibi Usa offered the kind of refreshing companionship Merle couldn’t seem to find anywhere else. The two got along well together and helped each other get through their shared loneliness from having busy parents.

With a somewhat guilty look around, Chibi Usa accepted a flute of champagne and took an experimental sip. Merle, seeing this, said very casually: “So this guy, Helios…” Chibi Usa choked and put the flute down, coughing to clear her throat. She tried to walk away but Merle kept a firm hold on her arm. “Spill. You know you want to.” She batted her eyelashes. “Talk to me, tell me everything.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Chibi Usa said with a blush. “I haven’t seen him in a long time and he hasn’t seen me in an even longer time! I mean… I must have seen him in the 30th century, when I was younger, before I met him in the past. But… well, it’s been a long time.”

“So you met because of your training?” Merle pushed, arching an eyebrow.

“The Dead Moon Circus was after him,” Chibi Usa explained. “They were the creepy guys I told you about? The ones who were searching everyone’s dreams?”

“The ones who almost ripped out your dreams? Oh, I remember them. But I do not remember anything about a hot guy,” she gave Chibi Usa a look.

“That’s because I didn’t know he was a guy,” Chibi Usa said with a blush. “I met him as Pegasus.”

“What? He’s the Pegasus you were talking about?” Merle blinked and peered over the crowd, obviously trying to catch another glimpse of him. “Oh, now I see. That’s kind of kinky…”

“Ngh… Merle,” Chibi Usa groaned. “It wasn’t like that! He needed a place to be safe so he went into my dreams, to hide. He protected me as best he could and he just… he was very helpful. He healed my dad, helped him awaken the Golden Crystal.”

“He sounds amazing,” Merle said thoughtfully.

“He is,” Chibi Usa said, smiling faintly.

“You have a crush on him,” Merle said smugly.

“Don’t you? After meeting him?” Chibi Usa said, hiding a little under her bangs. It was true… she had a silly crush, ever since he’d been so kind to her in her dreams.

She had felt very alone, stuck in a completely different time period, without her mother there to cushion her fears and self-doubt. He’d been wonderful, protecting her from the world and from herself. But she’d been a child – now she was a grown up. Right… a lady. She was a grown-up lady now. She raised her chin and resolutely did not think of the other little detail she hadn’t mentioned to her friends. Namely, that he’d been her first kiss. Um… only kiss. From him. That, she would keep for herself.

“Small Lady,” Venus’s high, excited voice came over the group of people in their path. The people pulled apart to reveal the four Inner Senshi decked out in their finest. Venus especially glowed with beauty and happiness as she pulled the two princesses closer. Between Mars and Jupiter were the King and Queen of Earth.

Chibi Usa watched with some fascination as the party-goers around the Inner Senshi rotated around the group, as if the King and Queen were the sun and the people were planets. Like magnets…

Chibi Usa sighed softly, wishing with all her heart that one day she would be that charismatic. Her mother practically glowed as she enveloped Chibi Usa in a tight hug, spreading joy throughout her body as she hugged her mother back.

“Small Lady,” her mother said, “You look beautiful!”

“Thank you, Mama,” Chibi Usa said, blushing with pride. Her father simply hugged her and lifted her off her feet, swaying her this way and that. She laughed and hugged him back, grinning at him as he set her back on her feet.

“You look stunning,” her father said into her ear.

“She dressed up for a guy,” Merle whispered conspiratorially. The Queen laughed but the King’s face darkened. He tried to recover but a strong frown marred his usually cheerful face.

“Who?” he demanded in a much stronger voice. Chibi Usa’s mother giggled and touched his arm, leaning against him.

“Now, now,” she said, “Small Lady is growing up. Obviously she’s going to be interested in boys.”

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” King Endymion said earnestly.

“P-Papa!” Chibi Usa said with a blush. “I didn’t dress up for a guy!”

“I’m glad to hear that,” a familiar warm voice behind her said. Chibi Usa gasped and whirled around, covering her face with her hands. “I’ve been jealous all night,” Helios added, staring directly at her.

“Helios!” Mercury said warmly. The group surged behind Chibi Usa and ushered them forward to greet Helios. “We were expecting you tomorrow night!”

“I thought I could sneak in for the party,” Helios said as he exchanged hugs with Mars and Venus. Jupiter thumped his shoulder with a laugh and even the Queen hugged him as if he were a close friend. The reporters who had calmed somewhat over the course of the night began snapping pictures but the group ignored them as much as possible. Merle even waved, although she kept her eyes on Chibi Usa’s expression.

“It’s good to see you,” Queen Serenity said. “I’m glad you could make it for the party! We don’t often have a chance to be all together like this.” She hugged Chibi Usa around the waist and rested her head against her daughter’s, beaming. “I feel so happy right now.”

“I am glad I could help,” Helios said, sounding genuinely pleased. “But that must be Small Lady’s influence. She lights up the room.”

“T-Thank you,” Chibi Usa said, her words fairly smooth considering how nervous she felt. Her father didn’t seem to notice how anxious she was because he just laughed and clapped Helios on the shoulder.

“I hope you can stay for a while? It would be a waste – leaving early. Especially when you and Small Lady haven’t seen each other since…” here, he paused and smiled secretively. “Just remember I’m still watching you.”

Helios, turning an interesting shade of pink, lowered his eyes and nodded. “I remember,” Helios said humbly. Chibi Usa blinked and looked between them. Her mother and Venus were exchanging knowing looks.

“What are you talking about?” Chibi Usa asked.

“Something Helios thinks I’ve forgotten,” King Endymion said airily. “Not to worry, I’ve reminded him. Now, how have you been?”

Much as she tried, Chibi Usa could not steer the conversation back to her father’s mysterious warning or Helios’s discomfort. She soon forgot to worry about it because Helios remained by her side, leaning towards her, and often whispered comments into her ear as if they were secrets. Merle made faces at her when his head was turned away but she didn’t care – it was a wonderful feeling. She considered reevaluating her previous thought about having “just a silly crush” and possibly upping the statement to “potential hormone-induced, boy-crazy fit of impossible love.” It made her feel light and vulnerable to consider such a thing.

Then again, she thought as she watched her father and Helios speak companionably with each other, it wasn’t as if there were too many guys her father wouldn’t have killed for looking at her the wrong way. At least if she happened to mention liking him as a friend, he wouldn’t close down the entire city and have him hunted like a criminal. The image made her laugh.

...

The party ended at dawn as the final, reluctant partygoers were ushered out of the palace by the guards. Chibi Usa thought her feet would fall off. Never again – she’d never wear heels again, no matter how dainty they made her feet look, or how tall she could pretend to be. It wasn’t fair – why did Kimiko and Sakura have to get all the height genes?

At least she was a good inch taller than her mother, she reflected. It must have been rough on her mother, being the shortest person there. Not that it mattered. She was so beautiful, no one noticed her height at all. They were too enamored by her smile and her laugh, and her perfect, beautiful golden hair and her graceful motions.

It was weird, comparing this ethereal version of her mother with her awkward, teenaged version in the 21st century. Chibi Usa loved both aspects of her mother fiercely, for different reasons, but it was still surprising to think how much her mother would grow up and change. It was comforting to know that such a transformation could take place at all. This meant Chibi Usa had a chance to become a real lady… if Usagi could become her mother, then she should be able to become a real lady too!

Grunting as she carried her shoes in one hand and Merle’s bag in the other, she made her way up the stairs towards her bedroom. Diana was probably still sleeping, as it was only five or six in the morning.

“Hey, thanks for holding it for me,” Merle said, coming up the stairs behind her. With a tired smile, Chibi Usa handed the bag to her friend and used the same hand to cover a yawn. “Get some beauty sleep,” Merle said brightly. “You look like you need it.”

“Ngh,” was all Chibi Usa had to say in response to the teasing, trudging up the stairs. She paused halfway up and stared. Helios stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at Crystal Tokyo as the sun’s rays touched the tops of sleepy buildings. Suddenly feeling fully awake and a little awkward, Chibi Usa approached him.

“Helios,” she said softly. He turned to look at her, even more perfect in the weak sunlight than he had against the dim night sky. She felt her cheeks heat up but she pushed the fuzzy feelings away, offering him a smile. “I’m going to bed. I’ll… see you later?” the statement became a question without her intending it to be.

She wanted to be nonchalant about their meeting. He had saved her life dozens of times, made her heart skip a beat every time he looked at her, given her the first kiss of her long life, entertained her, listened to her… and she’d been a complete mess around him the entire night. She didn’t want to add “needy” to the list of things she was around him.

“Would you like an escort?” Helios said, his eyes taking in her slumped shoulders and the shoes in one hand. He smiled, looking mischievous. “I’ve got to make sure you weren’t lying… what if you’re going off to see the man you dressed up for? I couldn’t let your father have all the fun torturing him.”

“Um?” Chibi Usa said, her eyes widening. Helios let his hands slide off the window, coming to stand very close to her. He stared down into her eyes, lips parted a little so that he looked… really, really hot. Oh boy, she was in trouble. “W-What are you talking about?”

“I told you,” he said softly. “I’ve been jealous all night, thinking there was someone here you wanted to impress.” Her mind went blank, staring into his golden eyes. It was disconcerting, confusing… and it was making her so flustered she could barely think.

“I didn’t dress up for a guy,” she said breathlessly. She swallowed, trying to take control of her out-of-control hormones. “I’m not trying to impress anyone.” She hesitated, then said, “I didn’t know you were coming. If I did… I… I would have dressed up for you.”

There, she’d said it. Feeling brave and mortified all at once, she tried to walk past him. He probably knew now that she had an unbelievably huge crush on him and she didn’t want to stick around for him to start laughing at her. She gasped when Helios grabbed her arm and jerked her back. She tried to protest but he wrapped his arms around her, effectively trapping her against his chest, and rested his lips against her ear. She froze, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

This was new… he’d never been aggressive with her before, especially not physically. She could feel an intense heat radiating from his chest into her back, making her feel as if she might melt right into him. His strength, his warmth, his breath on her ear, all combined to doom her.

“You don’t get to say something like that and then walk away,” he said in a gravelly voice. His arms tightened around her and he, very gently, kissed the spot right behind her ear. She thought she was going to have a heart attack. “Please tell me you’ve already gone into the past for the last time…”

“Wha?” she said, disconcerted by the change in subject.

“Did you meet your grandparents yet?” he said, nuzzling his nose into her hair. It felt so good, Chibi Usa decided she must be dreaming.

“N-No,” she whispered. “I don’t know… what you’re talking about?”

“Damn,” he muttered, slowly releasing her. When she turned to face him, his face was dark with frustration and he had shoved his hands into his pockets. From the bulges, she could tell he had balled his hands into fists. So that he wouldn’t touch her anymore?

“What does… what does it have to do with… um…” Chibi Usa wasn’t sure how to phrase what he had just done to her. Driven her crazy? Made her feel that the world had stopped spinning for a moment? Made her desperately want him to kiss her again?

“I have an agreement with your father,” Helios said in that same, frustrated voice. “And I am not allowed to speak to you about the past until you’ve already lived it.”

“Huh?” she said intelligently. An agreement? Is that what her father had warned Helios about earlier?

“Don’t worry about it,” Helios said firmly. He glanced down at the floor and then at her loose fingers still holding her shoes. He grinned and came forward, taking the shoes from her hand and pulling her towards the stairs. She blinked at him as he gently led her up to her room, still with that mysterious half-smile.

“I’m not going back to the past,” Chibi Usa said at last, getting enough order to her thoughts to voice them. “My training is finished…”

“You have one last trip,” Helios said gently. He paused, somehow recognizing her door – how did he know where her room was? – and gently put the shoes down inside. He didn’t move from the threshold, gently urging her inside. He tried to close the door in her face.

“Wait!” she said, catching his hand. He slowly looked down at it, the frustrated look back on his face as he looked up into her eyes. “I don’t understand,” she said at last. “Did I… do something wrong? What’s this agreement you have with Papa?”

Helios stared at her, his eyes seeming to glow in the darkness of the hallway. She thought to flick on the light but she couldn’t move, trapped by his stare. He leaned forward and hesitated, then draw back. Chibi Usa knew in her bones he’d been about to kiss her and she suddenly ached for him to do it. He pulled completely away from her, resting his back against the wall on the other side of the hallway. He smiled at her with that gentle smile she remembered from her past.

“When you go to the past,” he said slowly, “look for me. I will be in the room with the garden.”

“The room with the garden?” she echoed, staring at him. He slowly nodded and then turned to go.

“Good night, Small Lady,” he said. He hesitated and then added, “Please look for me. I’ll protect you, when you find me.”

He walked away and down the stairs, his golden hair disappearing from sight moments later. Chibi Usa stared after him, unsure what had just happened. She stayed by the door for a moment before entering her room, leaving the lights off and maneuvering her way through the clutter of her room. She plopped back on her bed, still wearing her gown, and stared at the ceiling. Diana’s soft breathing and a distant laugh somewhere in the palace reached her ears but she didn’t really hear them.

Her Senshi training was over. She couldn’t risk traveling into the past now, it was too close to the time when she would be conceived. There was a great danger in that, since no one – not even Pluto – was completely sure what would happen if she was anywhere near her past self. What in the world could make her go to the past?

She closed her eyes, hoping she could figure it out before Helios did something like that again. She didn’t know if she could survive it a second time.

...

Chibi Usa felt nauseous as she carried Diana to her desk. Her head was pounding from the little champagne she’d stolen throughout the night – sips here and there from her parents and the Senshi – and worst of all, she looked ill. If she could only manage to look good after a night of partying, like Ursula and Merle did, she would be one happy princess.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Sakura said from the doorway. She came in and plopped on Chibi Usa’s bed, her blue-streaked hair in disarray. She’d washed the makeup off her face and the strain of the night showed in the corner of her eyes as she exhaled.

“Don’t talk so loud,” Chibi Usa said grumpily, stroking Diana’s fur. The cat purred and nuzzled her fingertips. “I only got three hours of sleep.”

“At least you had fun at the party,” Diana said with a note of envy. “Mama wouldn’t let me stay up to see all the pretty people.”

“You wouldn’t have liked it,” Sakura said with a flippant wave of her hand. “They didn’t have any fish and there were so many people, someone was bound to step on your tail.”

“Still,” Diana said stubbornly, flicking her tail at the mention of stepping on it, “I would have liked to see Small Lady all dressed up.”

“You saw me getting ready,” Chibi Usa pointed out, letting her down on her vanity. She sat down in front of her mirror and stared glumly at the circles under her eyes. Her hair was a complete mess after all the time she’d spent curling the ends and sticking pins in it. Now, after sleeping on it without getting all the pins out, she looked like a scarecrow.

“It isn’t the same,” Diana insisted, walking along the table with her tail up. She touched Chibi Usa’s chin with her nose then sat down. “And I would have liked to see Helios.”

“O-o-oh,” Sakura said, sitting up. She looked perky and less drained so Chibi Usa ignored her. Saying something now would just get her into trouble so she focused on brushing the knots in her hair out. “A little bird told me he came by your room.”

“Ngh,” Chibi Usa said grumpily. “He didn’t do anything.” If only…

Sakura frowned, staring at Chibi Usa’s frustrated reflection in the vanity mirror. “Want to talk about it?”

“No,” Chibi Usa said firmly. After untangling a particularly nasty knot, she sighed and slumped. “Yes.”

“What’s on your mind?” Sakura asked, taking a brush from the vanity and standing behind Chibi Usa. She started brushing out the hair gently, tugging at the knots instead of trying to yank them out. Chibi Usa closed her eyes and let her, feeling the repetitive motion relax her. It had been ages since her mom had done that… it felt nice.

“He said something about me going into the past again,” Chibi Usa confessed.

“What!” Diana squealed, sitting up with her ears forward. “But you’ve completed your training!”

“I know,” Chibi Usa said, slowly opening her eyes. “It was weird… the way he talked about it. It was like…” she paused, thinking, “It was as if he knew something about the future that he wanted to warn me about. Except… the future is in the past. So he was trying to warn me about his past and my future.” The two girls stared at each other in the mirror, neither one moving.

“Time travel sucks,” Sakura said earnestly. Chibi Usa felt a headache coming on and sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“He told me to look for him in a room with a garden,” Chibi Usa said thoughtfully. “And… hey… and he mentioned my grandparents!”

“Your what?” Sakura said, frowning. “I thought you met your grandparents already.”

“I did,” Chibi Usa said, face animated. She stood, feeling triumphant and… relieved? She hadn’t focused on the emotion before but her conversation with Helios, as excited as it had made her, had also filled her with dread. The way he had spoken of her future had been frightening, especially the worried look in his eyes as he left. But if she had already fulfilled the conditions of her going to the past for the last time, then his warning had been for nothing. But she had met her grandparents almost immediately on her very first day in the past. Why would he mention it as if meeting Usagi’s parents was something bizarre? He even knew about Usagi’s parents…

“Wait a second,” Diana said reasonably. “Let’s think about this. Helios would not have warned you about something he didn’t think was going to happen.”

“Nothing is going to happen,” Sakura said confidently. She pulled Chibi Usa’s hair back into the braid she’d been working on and carefully tied the end, leaving the long pink hair to drop to the floor like a piece of rope. “After Nemesis and the Dark Moon Clan, no one would dare attack us again.”

“I don’t know about that,” Chibi Usa said worriedly. “I’ve seen enemies seemingly appear out of nowhere with no fear of what happened to those we defeated before them. They take it as a challenge, most of the time. If a new enemy comes, it only means they’re stronger than the last that we fought. Anyone weaker wouldn’t dare come to face us.”

“Bring them on,” Sakura said aggressively. “I’ve been training really hard. Kimiko and I are ready to handle anything that comes at us.”

“Me too,” Diana piped up optimistically. “We’re all prepared to fight with you, Small Lady.”

“Thank you,” Chibi Usa said, feeling both grateful for their support and a little irritated. It was all well and good for Sakura to confidently say that she and her sister were prepared to fight enemies no matter how strong they were. It was even nice, to have such blind belief in her abilities to protect those she thought were important. But at the same time, Chibi Usa knew what it was to have all the optimism and hope in the world and still not have the strength to protect those she desperately wished to protect. Every time she had tried, the other, more powerful Senshi had stepped in to protect her from getting killed. The optimism was nice but rather unfounded.

Sakura and Kimiko had been training for several years to become the next generation of Senshi. After Chibi Usa returned from the past with a Senshi power of her own and permission from her parents, the other girls had also surfaced with the power to fight as Senshi. It wasn’t enough though and the Senshi knew it. The girls, apart from Chibi Usa, had never fought in any real battles. The youma they encountered on the outskirts of the galaxy were either weak or solitary. With the guidance of the Senshi, neither Sakura, Kimiko, or even Merle or Ursula had ever fought in a life or death situation. It was both a good and bad thing: a reflection of the peaceful time they lived in and a hampering protection that softened the girls.

“I feel like Luna,” Chibi Usa said without thinking.

“Why do you feel like Mom?” Diana demanded, eyeing her strangely. Chibi Usa colored and looked down, playing with her fingers.

“Ah, I mean… Luna from the past,” Chibi Usa explained. “She’s always talking about how the Senshi should train more, work harder to be stronger and protect themselves from getting lazy. I feel like I get lazy here, going to parties and letting Mama and the other Senshi fight all the time. At least in the past, they had about as much idea of what to do as I did. We worked out the problems together. I… felt involved. Here, Mama and the Senshi already know what to do. They’ve had a thousand years to learn about all of this, how to protect the Earth I mean. It makes me feel a little useless.”

“You’re not useless,” Sakura said firmly. “You just haven’t had an opportunity to prove yourself here. None of us has.” Here, she scolded. Her mother was, after all, extremely hard to live up to. “But we will some day.”

“Don’t hope for it,” Diana said, although it was half-hearted. She tried to take after her mother and be the voice of reason, but she too wanted desperately to prove herself. Chibi Usa also felt that longing. She KNEW that there was a power deep inside her, a power she had glimpsed once or twice in the past. She just wanted to let it out like her mother obviously had. She wanted to grow up completely. Finally.

“Let’s go,” Chibi Usa said, feeling tired all of a sudden. The headache was now pounding and she felt depressed by the conversation. On the one hand she wanted to agree with her friends and eagerly seek a way to prove herself. At the same time, she wanted to keep the Earth safe and NOT wish for a way to prove herself. Seeing the danger of the past and the constant meddling of Senshi business with the normal lives Usagi and the girls struggled with all the time, it was a wonder Chibi Usa had a life at all. Her mother had made it all possible.

“Merle said she would see us tomorrow,” Sakura said softly, perhaps sensing that Chibi Usa was no longer in the mood for a pep talk. “She went with Ursula back to Venus but they’re coming back. She said something about catching up with you before you go back into the past.”

“I have no intention of going back,” Chibi Usa said firmly. “I trust Helios, but he must have it wrong.” She stared out the window without seeing anything. “Nothing’s going to happen.”

At that moment, the ground shook ominously. Sakura paled as the trembling of the earth increased, becoming more violent. Chibi Usa quickly stood, adrenaline shooting through her sharply. “Famous last words,” she said, twisting around to her bed.

“What’s happening?” Sakura yelled, widening her stance to keep her balance. Her blue-dyed hair whipped around her face from side to side, looking for a physical target. Chibi Usa ignored her and leapt for her bed, trying to reach over the nightstand for her brooch.

Before she could reach it, the ground rolled and threw the girls to their knees. Chibi Usa screamed and covered her head when books tipped off her bookshelf. Diana squeaked and dug her nails into the wood of the vanity, clinging for balance. When the ground quieted, Chibi Usa looked up, panting slightly. Her eyes went to the window that, moments before, had poured bright sunlight into her room. It was now clouded and dark outside – a shift too sudden to be normal weather.

It was happening. The palace was under siege again. A panic attack gripped Chibi Usa for several moments as she remembered a similar attack years ago, when she was too young and too scared to react. That terror gripped her now and she felt the cold fingers of the Wise Man on her throat, choking the life from her.

“Look for me,” Helios’s voice cut through her terror. She blinked and looked for him in her room, surprised to have heard him so clearly, but there was only Diana and Sakura with her. She shook her head. “Get a grip,” she whispered, clenching her fists. The ground started shaking again and she grunted, forcing herself into action. Flinging clothes every which way, she grabbed her brooch with her Silver Crystal and her backpack. Sakura grabbed Diana before she could fall off the vanity and watched wide-eyed as Chibi Usa hurriedly threw open her dresser drawer and flung clothes in without looking at them.

“What are you doing?” Sakura demanded, staring out the window. The clouds had parted to reveal a pain-streaked sky. The sun had vanished and darkness pressed in like a grasping hand, smothering the bursts of light directed into it. “We have to find the Senshi!” she said, glancing back at Chibi Usa. “We have to find out what’s going on! What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m packing,” Chibi Usa said, fear making her hands shake. She zipped up the overstuffed bag and quickly jammed the brooch into her pocket. “I just figured something out. I think Helios came to the palace yesterday for a reason. If this is what he was warning me about, then I have to be ready.” With held breath, she opened her jewelry box and tugged out the Time Key Pluto had given her, seemingly a lifetime ago. She put it around her neck and slipped into her shoes – just as the floor gave a colossal jerk and both girls shrieked as they were thrown to the floor.

Dragging herself to her feet while cradling Diana, Sakura quickly grabbed Chibi Usa’s elbow and pulled her into motion. They ran together down the quaking staircases, ignoring the windows as they bent inward. Some shattered in another part of the palace but they ignored the sound. With a burst of speed, they leapt the final staircase in a single jump and dove into the throne room. Behind them, a shrieking wind blew through the palace, dropping the temperature so that their breaths hung in white clouds.

Inside the throne room, the Inner Senshi had circled the King and Queen with linked arms. Chibi Usa stared at her mother, the blinding power and light radiating through her. Sakura shielded her eyes with her hand but Chibi Usa ignored the light, running forward. Jupiter opened her eyes, sensing Chibi Usa, and looked down at her.

“We can handle this,” she said, her voice heavy with power. The whole room was vibrating with the strength of their protection. Chibi Usa looked around the room, seeing the other Senshi with their eyes closed, their faces pinched in concentration. All, that is, except for her mother. Neo Queen Serenity’s face was serene and the power going through her quadrupled in seconds.

“Mama!” Chibi Usa yelled. Her mother’s eyes opened and stared at her. “I have to go, Mama! I have to go to the past!”

Her father shifted and looked at her, the Golden Crystal hot and dripping power in his hands. He exchanged a single glance with his wife and then stepped forward, offering Chibi Usa the crystal.

“Take this,” he said, his voice echoing with power. “You need it.”

“I can’t,” Chibi Usa argued, eyes wide. “Papa, you need the crystal here. It’s okay; I’ve got the Silver Crystal.”

“Take it,” Endymion said firmly, shoving the pulsating crystal at her. Chibi Usa gingerly took it from his hands, feeling as if she was stealing it. Her father smiled and stepped back, extending his hand to overlap with his wife’s. Together, their power exploded until the entire room reflected light back at them. Sakura made a distressed sound at the increased power, clutching Diana to her chest.

Chibi Usa held the Golden Crystal in much the same way as Sakura held Diana, feeling the warmth seep into her like hot chocolate. The Silver Crystal, while familiar, often felt cold in her hands. This was a completely different sensation – like being held by her father. Chibi Usa carefully put the crystal against her necklace and attached it to the chain with some surprise. It had been set in gold so that she could attach it like a charm, just like the Silver Crystal was set. Did her father know she would take it with her?

She looked up at her parents, bathed in light, their faces serene and close together. She felt a swell of gratitude as she ran from them, followed closely by Sakura. She ran out the door and into chaos.

Part of the palace had been ripped away to reveal the skeleton of the building. There were damaged crystals all around that reflected light into the darkness all around them. The cold was biting now and tore at their light clothes even as they ran into it. Sakura’s face was bright pink from the cold and twisted with terror. She had never fought alone before. Without the Senshi to protect them, Sakura was the last defense if any enemy tried to kill Chibi Usa. The realization of this responsibility hit her hard.

Both girls came to a screeching halt when they passed the now non-existent barrier between the palace and the plaza. Youma were appearing out of warp holes, sending blasts of energy at the palace. Chibi Usa twisted to see Kimiko and Ursula running at them from the other side of the plaza, assessing their situation. The girls’ clothes were torn and Ursula had a long gash over one eye. Chibi Usa turned to Sakura and took Diana from her arms. “Get to safety!” she shouted.

“What about you?” Sakura shouted, quickly coming to grips with her new situation. She had even stopped shaking, her hands clenched into fists.

“What’s going on?” Kimiko said but her words were only half-heard as the wind picked up. Chibi Usa felt more strongly with each passing moment that she needed to go. Helios’s words made her feel dread as she had not remembered feeling in a long time. If she stayed with the girls, she would be dooming the past – she just knew it.

“I have to go!” Chibi Usa yelled over the roaring wind.

“Princess!” Ursula shouted but Chibi Usa had taken off, out of the safety of the palace. She was too close to the others – she couldn’t risk dragging anyone with her into the past. She leapt over a piece of fallen wall and flipped over a group of five youma coming at her.

“Let’s go!” Diana shouted, digging her claws into Chibi Usa’s bag to keep from falling off. Chibi Usa clutched the Golden Crystal in one hand and swung the chain around with the other. Lifting her Time Key, she shouted loud and clear – “Take me to Pluto!”

Light descended from the sky, bathing everything in a cold, distant light. Surprised, the youma drew back and gawked at her. Peripherally she saw the girls running towards her. Off to her right, Merle was shouting something, terrified tears on her cheeks as she ran. Chibi Usa’s feet left the ground, her hair swirled around her like pink ribbons, and for a split second she thought she saw Helios in the distant Crystal Tower, staring at her. In a single heartbeat, she and Diana were gone.


	10. Blooming Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sharp melody of the violin cut through the auditorium like a gentle claw. The audience remained spellbound even when the microphone hissed and went out and an audible curse from the techs in the pit was heard. Michiru continued to play as if nothing had happened, her eyes closed, her face serene, the music flowing through her so powerfully that the audience did not react to the dimmed sound of the instrument. They merely leaned closer, eager to hear the final notes of the song vibrate through their beings and take them back in their memories. The song was full of youth and vigor, reminding them of the daring adventures they had experienced in their youth, the taste of cold ice cream on a sweltering day, the laughter of children in the playground, the hot taste of victory playing baseball in little league.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a warning! Well, not a warning, more of a heads up. There are slight sexy times in this chapter, nothing graphic (I know some of you are pouting! I can feel it from here!) but thought I'd mention it here. Still debating if in later stories I'll make things more explicit, perhaps in a side story, but for now enjoy the chapter as it stands.

The sharp melody of the violin cut through the auditorium like a gentle claw. The audience remained spellbound even when the microphone hissed and went out and an audible curse from the techs in the pit was heard. Michiru continued to play as if nothing had happened, her eyes closed, her face serene, the music flowing through her so powerfully that the audience did not react to the dimmed sound of the instrument. They merely leaned closer, eager to hear the final notes of the song vibrate through their beings and take them back in their memories. The song was full of youth and vigor, reminding them of the daring adventures they had experienced in their youth, the taste of cold ice cream on a sweltering day, the laughter of children in the playground, the hot taste of victory playing baseball in little league.

All the audience members had different memories, different longings, and each one felt the tug of that memory through the music. Only one person remained unmoved by the melody, her eyes focused on the violin player herself. Haruka loosened her tie, shifting her weight to her other foot as she watched Michiru perform one of her favorite songs. It was entertaining to watch the faces of the audience members but it was far more enjoyable to watch Michiru.

This was an unguarded moment, similar to the moments when they made love. Michiru’s smiling, masked face would crack for a moment and reveal the beautiful, wild woman within her that made Haruka’s heart soar. Watching her play the music was like that. It made Haruka anxious to get home with her soul mate and do very naughty things to her.

The music came to a violent end, sharply breaking the spell on the audience. There was a long silence – Haruka amusedly counted eleven seconds – and then the audience rose to their feet clapping. Americans liked to clap a lot more than other audiences but the admiration was the same no matter what country Michiru performed in. There was devotion in them, a love for her music that surpassed all cultures. It made Haruka violently jealous.

“Stunning,” a stagehand wearing headphones whispered close to Haruka. “Her music is so beautiful.”

Haruka grinned bitterly but said nothing. She hated sharing Michiru with the world like this, watching them greedily keep her to themselves while she watched from the sidelines. Part of her suspected Michiru felt the same way when Haruka raced cars. It was an angry sort of trade-off: Michiru with her music and Haruka with her cars.

“I hope I can get her autograph,” the stagehand said to her companion.

“I heard she gives autographs to anyone who asks her,” her friend whispered with a giggle. “Except if her boyfriend is here. Then she just ignores everyone and goes off with him somewhere.”

“I didn’t know she had a boyfriend!” the first girl squealed, her eyes lighting up. “Do you think the media knows about him?”

“Oh yeah, it’s all over the papers! Her boyfriend drives race cars – he’s pretty famous.”

“What’s his name?” the girl asked. Haruka kept her eyes fastened on Michiru as her lovely lady curtsied to the audience and accepted an armful of roses.

“Haruka something… he’s Japanese, like Michiru, I think.” Michiru smiled and curtsied again, politely turning away as the audience screamed for an encore. This was the fourth encore already and Haruka was getting annoyed.

“Isn’t Haruka a girl’s name?” Michiru was apologizing in slow, accented English and walking off the stage towards Haruka.

“It’s Japanese, it could be a guy’s name. The equivalent of Sam or Payton, I think.”

Haruka sighed a soft relief as Michiru was back in her arms. She kissed her soundly then loosened her grip, only to keep from squishing the violin in Michiru’s arms. Michiru only smiled tiredly at her, smelling delicious and tempting from her exertion playing so strongly.

“Our dinner reservations were for an hour ago,” Haruka chided gently. The girls behind her gasped. Her look, while androgynous, could not cover up her entirely female voice. “If we had done as I suggested and made reservations for later, I wouldn’t have to call in a favor to get you fed.”

“I am sorry,” Michiru said, not sounding sorry at all. “I couldn’t let those nice people be disappointed. They asked for another encore and my contract states that I have to give them at least a little something for coming all this way to hear me.”

“Excuses, excuses,” Haruka said, flippantly waving her hand. The press of voices all around hinted that the high-paying fans were sneaking back stage. This was her cue to leave. Wrapping her arms around Michiru’s shoulders, she directed her girlfriend out through the wings and towards the exit. She didn’t even look at Michiru’s dressing room, currently overflowing with the earliest fans and squealing stagehands. Michiru never complained about this jealous move, only smiled and waved apologetically as Haruka led her straight past them and out the door.

A couple was making out in the alleyway. The guy gasped and jumped when he saw Michiru and Haruka striding towards them. The guy cursed and fumbled behind his back as the woman pulled a microphone from somewhere on her person, her makeup and hair in disarray. Haruka grinned, pleased to have caught the paparazzi snoozing, led Michiru to her car. With a smooth transition from standing to sitting, Haruka only had to wait a mere moment for Michiru to slide into the seat beside her. Without a second glance at the man now rapidly taking pictures through the windshield, Haruka gunned the motor and nearly ran over the woman running towards the car with her microphone outstretched.

Haruka drove smoothly and quickly out of the alley, easily avoiding the fans as they trickled out of the theater. Michiru leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed, a serene expression on her face. Haruka knew what that look meant – she was relaxing at last and thinking about what would come after dinner. It was a topic Haruka, now driving and thus in control of their relationship, was also very interested in.

The phone rang somewhere. The ringtone was familiar, one of Michiru’s favorite operas. Michiru’s eyes opened and she immediately grabbed her purse, rooting around until she retrieved a small silver phone. Flipping it open, she held it to her ear without a greeting.

“Yes,” Michiru said after a moment. Her eyes narrowed and her fingers tightened around the phone. “Yes.” Haruka waited, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of her as she weaved through the patchy traffic. Michiru continued listening to the phone until she finally said, “Understood,” and hung up.

“What did Setsuna say?” Haruka asked, letting her eyes glide off the road to Michiru’s face. It was pinched with worry.

“Thus far she has been unable to ascertain whether the Moon Queen and the Earth royals are faking or not. She has not sensed a single hint of negative energy nor seen any traces of youma activity in the area.”

“So, she’s worried something big is coming and we haven’t been good enough to catch glimpses of it before it bites us,” Haruka summed up. Michiru nodded.

“She wants us to patrol longer, look harder,” Michiru said, her face pinching with worry. “We’re missing something big and we need to see it before it hits. We can’t afford the chance that the royals, whether true or false, may be in serious danger.”

“I can’t believe how incredibly stupid they are,” Haruka said, shaking her head. She shifted gears and sped ahead of a distracted SUV. “If they truly are the monarchs, I have no idea how they managed to survive this long. Why would they suddenly expose themselves to their entire population? Do they have any idea how difficult it is to defend the Prince and Princess even with their identities hidden?”

“They are grieving,” Michiru said. “After a thousand years, they have no identifiable heirs to their powerful kingdoms. They have little choice but to expose themselves if it means they can protect their legacy.”

“Still,” Haruka muttered, “there must have been another way.”

“People react in interesting ways when they think they have no other choice,” Michiru said softly. She tapped the phone against her lip, staring up at the stars. Haruka remained silent, staring ahead at the road. “You and I have experienced tremendous loneliness in our lives,” Michiru said softly. “We have traveled the galaxy alone for centuries in our youth. Even now, the closest we have ever come to a family was when we lived with Setsuna and Hotaru.”

“Yes,” Haruka said, fighting to ignore the bleak loneliness she felt without them now. It felt as if she had lost a daughter and sister in Hotaru and Setsuna. Never in her life had she yearned for the cozy families she saw reflected in the fickle humans. Never, except those few months she spent living with the love of her life, one of her best friends, and a young girl she thought of as a daughter. That plus Usagi and the others had created such a tightly knit, loving home that even now part of her yearned for their warmth.

“We have never built a family as they have,” Michiru continued, smiling secretly to herself. “We never created Hotaru, as they created their children. They raised the Prince and Princess, watched them grow, watched them cry, watched them change and mature and die.” She paused here and glanced sideways at Haruka. “To lose their children… to lose Usagi…” a pang of agony went through both Senshi at the thought, “would be… unspeakable.”

“Yes,” Haruka said, swallowing around the lump in her throat. “Dinner can wait. We can patrol a little more.”

“Haruka…” Michiru said, smiling. She rearranged herself in her seat and closed her eyes again, enjoying the night air and their shared mission. Haruka felt her heart hammering in her chest, the agony of the thought still clear to her. To lose Usagi, if Usagi were her daughter… it was unthinkable. Unspeakable. And yet, it had happened. The thought was a blasphemy, a poison so potent it set her tongue on fire just thinking it.

...

The touch of perfume at her throat made Usagi blush, grinning at her reflection in the vanity mirror. She had spent the better part of her afternoon preparing for her date with Mamoru, washing her long hair, meticulously and patiently brushing all the knots out of it until it shone like spun gold, manicured her nails and gave her toes a pedicure, finished her homework while she waited for everything to dry, picked the best outfit with matching shoes, purse, and even earrings. All her hard work had been strenuous but she was pleased with her final, adult touch – perfume.

It was something that always stood out in her memory as something sophisticated that adult couples did for each other. Her father would splash a little cologne, decorating his room and the hallway with his scent. And her mother would gently dab behind her ears with rosewater and smelled like love. Usagi couldn’t help but blush when she placed that same scent behind her ears like her mother did, gently rubbed her wrists together to spread the scent, and finally looked at herself in the mirror. She looked good – really, really good. But was it enough? She breathed a little harder, thinking of how good Mamoru looked on a daily basis. She tried to look good every day, she made an effort, but he was so effortless. With another blush she thought of the nights she had slept over his apartment and how stunningly handsome he looked when he woke up.

While she looked like a complete mess with her frizzy hair electrocuted in every direction, her skin pasty from sleep, gunk in her eyes and feeling miserable, he woke up looking like a famous, high-paid model. He’d confided in her once that he’d done some modeling but found it boring… she believed it. He looked good enough to eat, even after a grueling battle. She might be battered, beaten, and bleeding but he just always looked so… together. Even when people were trying to kill him. It wasn’t fair, Usagi decided firmly. Why was it that people like Mamoru could be so painfully good looking? And why… would he want to be with someone like her, who could never quite measure up?

Usagi did not often feel concern for the difference she felt between her appearance and Mamoru’s – she was too confident to dwell on it – but she felt a little overwhelmed then, thinking of how good he would be looking tonight. It was a special occasion, the dinner he had promised her for maintaining her good grades even while her father was away in America taking pictures for the newspaper. She’d maintained her grades without his nagging and threatening… she’d done it for herself, really, but she couldn’t have done it without Mamoru. He didn’t see it that way – he felt as if she’d done it all on her own so he was treating her to a romantic dinner.

“Wear something sexy,” Usagi whispered to herself, still blushing. That had been his response when she asked him what she should wear. He had not elaborated so she, naturally, consulted Minako. The Goddess of Love and Beauty knew more about other people’s relationships than she did for herself, considering she didn’t have a boyfriend. But she was very helpful when Usagi went out shopping and pointed out a very sexy dress indeed. Usagi had thought it was too low-cut but when she tried it on, the dress had been tasteful. She was also worried it would be too short but one of the salespeople had shown her the skirt that accompanied the dress and added more length and made the whole thing look much more classical and sophisticated. Grown up. Like the perfume.

Usagi felt beautiful staring at herself in the black dress, and definitely sexy. She couldn’t wait to see Mamoru’s reaction when he came to get her.

“Where are you going?” Luna said in a deeply impressed voice as she came through the window. Lightly tip toeing over her bed, she curled up beside Usagi on the vanity and looked her over. “Going out with Mamoru?”

“Yes,” Usagi said happily. “He said to dress up. He’s taking me somewhere special because of my grades.”

“Good,” Luna said, looking pleased. Her tail twitched and she looked away for a moment before looking back at Usagi. “I know I don’t say it often enough but… I just wanted to say. I’m really proud of you, Usagi. And you look really beautiful tonight. I know Mamo-chan will like your dress.” Usagi beamed, her entire face brightening like the sun. Luna stared down at her paws, lest she be overwhelmed by the brilliance of her joy.

“Thank you, Luna,” Usagi murmured as she petted her. Her bright red nails made a lovely contrast against Luna’s black fur. “Mom wanted to see me before I left. Want to come?”

“You go ahead,” Luna said, tilting her head. “Ami got a call from Setsuna. They’re working on some sort of project together and I was going to give them a hand. I wanted to see you first so you’d know where I was.”

“Is there anything you need me for?” Usagi said, her eyes widening. What project could Setsuna and Ami, the two brainiest geniuses she knew, be coming up with? Could it have something to do with the Lunar Expedition and the Earth monarchs in America?

“Don’t worry, it’s a small project. Has to do with computers and cell phones… something that I don’t think even I could keep up with,” Luna said hastily. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it under control.”

Usagi frowned, glancing at her reflection and then at Luna again. “I’ll keep my communicator with me in case you need me.”

“Oh, we won’t!” Luna said, waving her paw. “I don’t want you to spend a single minute worrying about anything but what you’re going to eat. I… we, all of us, want you and Mamoru to enjoy yourselves. You’ve been working too hard lately… you need a break. And while you can’t go on vacation, you can at least have this one night to spend with Mamoru.”

“Thank you, Luna,” Usagi whispered, smiling. She fought back the happy tears that threatened to smudge her make up, grinning happily. “I’ll have a wonderful time!”

“Good,” Luna said, butting her head against Usagi’s hand and purring. “Now go ahead and show your mother. I think she’ll be highly impressed. You do look very beautiful, Usagi.”

“Thanks,” Usagi said again. She stood and twirled in place, letting the dress flare gently around her. “I’ll see you later?”

“Of course,” Luna said. “Just remember, I’ll probably spend the night at Ami’s house. If you need anything, call there.”

“I will,” Usagi said. She hesitated and then moved closer. She placed a gentle kiss on the moon mark on Luna’s forehead, and then gently smoothed the fur back with a caress. Luna purred, looking pleased. “Thanks for everything.”

“Knock him dead,” Luna said cheerfully. Usagi nodded and walked out of the room, feeling the nervous butterflies invade her stomach again. Mamoru would be coming over… this felt like a big date. She hadn’t been out with him in a long time and she certainly had never left her house and spoken with her mother with the entire household fully aware of her date. It felt strange without her father there glaring or making all kinds of arguments for why they shouldn’t date: he was too old for her, he couldn’t possibly love her, he was just playing her, he was too good-looking to only want to spend his time with one high school girl… the list was endless. Now though, Shingo was at a friend’s house and her father was in America. That left Ikuko, who fully supported Usagi’s relationship with Mamoru. And her mother would be seeing her off. It felt great to be accepted that way by Ikuko.

“Usagi?” her mother’s voice came from the kitchen as she descended the stairs. With a deep breath, Usagi stepped inside her mother’s domain with a shy smile.

“How do I look?” she asked. Her mother turned away from the sink and looked at her. And her mouth dropped open.

“Oh… Usagi…” she whispered, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Oh honey… you look so beautiful.” She looked up, her eyes a little misty. “Oh! Where did you find that dress? It looks amazing on you!”

“Minako helped me a lot,” Usagi said, beaming. “So you really like it?” She twirled to show off the cute ribbon on the small of her back and the flirty skirt. “Do you think it looks…” she paused, blushing, “sexy?”

“Yes,” her mother said, blushing a bit herself. “We’ll just make sure your father never sees you in that dress.” They both giggled, sharing secretive smiles. “Oh honey… you look great.”

“Thank you,” Usagi said, beaming. “I don’t know where he’s taking me.”

“Somewhere very nice, if I know him,” her mother said. “Mamoru has excellent taste. Obviously, since he’s in love with you.” Usagi laughed. “I’m so glad he’s taking you out to celebrate your hard work. I’m very proud of you, sweetheart. And I know your dad will be too when he gets back. I spoke with him on the phone earlier and he was so proud of you. At first he thought I was joking,” here, she winked at Usagi, “but after some convincing, he’s finally able to get past all of his doubts and he’s really happy about how hard you’ve worked.”

“I couldn’t have done it without Mamoru helping me,” Usagi said, smiling at her mother. “He tutored me, stayed with me… he helped me so much.”

“He is very much in love with you, I think,” Ikuko said, a pleased smile on her face. “I’m so happy for you, Usagi. You found someone really wonderful who helps bring out all of your strengths. And for him to be your very first boyfriend!”

“Yeah,” Usagi said, laughing as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I know I’m really lucky to have found him.” She looked away, smiling. “I can’t wait, Mama… I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.”

Ikuko froze, her eyes widening. Usagi didn’t notice her mother’s reaction at first but when an extremely girly squeal followed a bone-crushing hug, Usagi started paying attention again.

“Oh!” her mother said breathlessly. “Oh, he didn’t! He did! He asked you!”

“N-Not yet!” Usagi said, turning violently red and flustered. “He didn’t ask me yet!”

“Oh…” her mother said, deflating a little although the mad gleam in her eyes remained. “Oh… oh, I’m sorry. I just thought…” She took a calming breath. “Well, good. You’re just too young right now. You still have school to consider and you don’t even know how to take care of yourself yet. Just doesn’t seem practical.” She nodded, agreeing with herself.

“He didn’t… ask me. Outright,” Usagi amended. “We talked about it a little… and… and we know it’s going to happen. But he wants for me to finish school first and to finish his degree. He wants to be able to provide for me before we do anything more.”

“Oh,” her mother said, sounding pleased. “He’s a good boy… man, I mean. He’s a good man. And he loves you. And… and I’m just so happy for you, Usagi. It’ll happen someday soon and it’ll be wonderful.”

“I know,” Usagi whispered. An old pain in her chest made her feel heartsick for a moment and she longed to be in Mamoru’s arms. “I’ve waited to marry him for so long…” she whispered. 

“It always feels like a long time when you’re young,” Ikuko said blithely. “Mmm,” she said, her face softening. “But you and Mamoru have been together a long time. Longer than even I thought.”

“Huh?” Usagi said, eyes widening. “Y-You thought Mamoru and I wouldn’t last?”

“It isn’t Mamoru exactly,” Ikuko said, waving her hand. “I meant your first boyfriend. You grew up to be so beautiful and sweet, I thought you would leave a string of heart-broken ex-boyfriends for your father to gleefully hate until you found just the right man to make you happy. I didn’t realize you were so serious, Usagi.”

“Mmm,” Usagi said, frowning. It felt a little like an insult but at the same time it felt like the truth. “I’ve just always been in love with Mamoru. Even when I met him and we pretended to hate each other.”

“Love and hate are very similar emotions,” Ikuko said with a laugh. “You were merely masking the passion you felt for each other!”

“M-Mama!” Usagi said with a blush. There was a firm, polite knock at the door as Usagi put her coat over her shoulders. Ikuko went to the door and opened it wide, smiling at Mamoru and blocking him from the rest of the house.

“Hello, Mamoru,” Ikuko said warmly. “Please come in, Usagi’s ready to go.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Tsukino,” Mamoru’s deep, wonderful voice came from the door. Usagi tortured herself a little by keeping her back to him as she dabbed lip-gloss over her lips in front of the mirror. She felt her mother move back into the house and then felt his warm presence behind her. “Ready, Usako?”

“Yes,” Usagi said as she turned around. The next thing she had been about to say vanished from her mind when she finally saw him. Dressed in black pants and a button-down red shirt, he held a red rose in one hand and had the other stuffed in his pocket. He looked as if he had walked off the cover of a fashion magazine. His hair had been forced back into something a little less messy and his sharp blue eyes were amused and warm. Usagi felt her face burn up as she ogled him, taking it all in before she could even speak.

“Wow,” Mamoru whispered, his eyes sweeping her appearance from head to toe. His eyes lingered only an extra moment on certain areas of her body and when they returned to her eyes, she felt as if she had been thoroughly caressed. “You look amazing,” he said. Then he looked down at his own clothes and frowned. “I feel superiorly outclassed.”

“I think you’ll manage,” Ikuko said, an amused smile dancing on her face. “I want pictures.”

“Ngh?” Usagi said, coming back to herself. “Pictures?”

“When do I ever get a chance to see you off on a real date, Usagi?” Ikuko said with a slight whine, manifesting a camera from some hidden dimension while Usagi wasn’t looking. “Your father always has to spoil my fun. Now get in close next to each other so I can get a picture.”

“M-Mama!” Usagi said, her face burning up as she tried to walk towards the front door and away from her embarrassment. Mamoru’s hand shot out as she moved to pass him and curved around her waist, pulling her back beside him and pointing towards Ikuko.

“Come on, Usako,” Mamoru said, giving Ikuko a warm smile. “We can humor your mom, can’t we?”

“Mmm,” Ikuko said appreciatively as she started snapping pictures. “He’s right, you know.”

Usagi smiled at the camera, trying to contain her glee. “You’re just trying to get in good with her so she’ll be on your side in the future in case my dad tries to kill you.”

“Naturally,” Mamoru said, still grinning at the camera. He ducked his head and gently kissed Usagi’s temple, making her look up at him in surprise. Mamoru was never publically affectionate with her, especially in front of her parents. It was such an unusual display of affection, in fact, that it felt more intimate than any kiss or touch. She shivered and smiled up at him, feeling warm and protected.

“You two make such a lovely couple,” her mother said in a dreamy tone of voice. Usagi blushed and fell back against Mamoru’s chest. He wrapped his arms comfortably around her and kissed her temple again.

“Mama?” Usagi said. Ikuko continued snapping pictures.

“Mmm?” she said distractedly.

“Um, Mama, we have to leave. We have reservations,” Usagi said. Her mother stopped snapping pictures and just stared at her.

“Oh!” she suddenly said, remembering herself. “Oh, right! Am I holding you up? I’m sorry, please go ahead. I can get pictures next time.” She grinned, obviously pleased with herself. She cradled the camera as if it held something sacred and she bounced on the balls of her feet. The image made Usagi smile despite her embarrassment.

“Definitely more pictures next time,” Mamoru said. This only made Ikuko squeal as she had minutes before. “Good night, Mrs. Tsukino, I’ll be sure to have her home by her curfew.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Ikuko said, waving her hand dismissively. “You two have a great time. I won’t wait up for you okay Usagi? I’ll just see you tomorrow.” She then skipped off to the kitchen, grinning at herself like a crazy woman. Usagi, face aflame and hiding in Mamoru’s shoulder, made an exasperated sound.

“Let’s go,” she said, looking up into his face. Her breath caught when she realized he was staring at her with such intensity, she couldn’t move. His gaze held hers, his fingers gently tightening around her waist.

“She gave me permission to keep you overnight,” he said softly. “I think I just might.” Without giving her a chance to reply, Mamoru gently steered her towards the door and called out a farewell to her mother before taking her outside. Again, without waiting for a response, Mamoru dipped her backwards and kissed her.

Usagi’s mind went blissfully blank as she kissed him back, wrapping her arms securely around his neck. The kiss wasn’t long but it reminded her of all the reasons they sometimes had trouble stopping once they got started. Straightening and readjusting his shirt, Mamoru righted Usagi and led her towards the car, a satisfied grin on his face. Usagi looked back at her house and nearly tripped on her own feet when she saw her mother happily waving from the kitchen window, the camera in her other hand.

“Y-You did that on purpose!” Usagi said in disbelief. Mamoru looked down at her with a too-innocent expression on his face.

“Who? Me?” he glanced back at Ikuko and politely waved back. “Never.”

“You!” Usagi gasped, her eyes wide. Then she started laughing and continued to do so until Mamoru steered her into her seat. “Why did you do that?” she asked as Mamoru started the car and drove down the street.

“It’s fun to make your mom happy,” he said, smiling at the road. “If I had a mom, I know she’d love to take pictures of me going out too. Since I don’t have one, I thought it would be nice for your mom to have some pictures with you and me together. After all,” he glanced at Usagi, “there aren’t too many pictures of us that your parents have.”

“I know,” Usagi said, looking down at her hands in her lap. She knit her fingers together and thought about how red in the face her father got every time Mamoru’s name was brought up in conversation. “My dad means well… he’s just…”

“I completely understand how your father feels,” Mamoru said, grinning. “I’m sure when Chibi Usa gets to be our age, I’ll feel exactly the same way. It can’t be easy to watch another guy try to be with your little girl.”

“Mamoru,” she said, smiling at him. “Thank you… for understanding. He’ll get around to the idea some day. I’m sure Mama will be more than happy to speak on your behalf and convince him that it isn’t the end of the world, like he thinks it is.”

“Like I said,” Mamoru said, “I’m sure that whenever Chibi Usa gets to be that age, I’ll be worse than him.” He glanced at Usagi and held her gaze as he said, “You’re my girls. I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with sharing the both of you. Even after a thousand years…”

Usagi felt a thrill as he looked back at the road. She didn’t pay attention to the direction they were traveling or even when the car stopped for red lights. Her mind went to the future Crystal Tokyo and the lives they would lead there. Together. It made her wish for the future so much more.

“What?” Mamoru interrupted her thoughts.

“Huh?” she said.

“You’re staring at me,” he said. “What are you thinking about?”

“Chibi Usa,” Usagi said. “Wondering how she’s doing, what she’s been up to. We haven’t seen her in a long time.”

“Yes,” Mamoru said, smiling. “I bet she’s getting into trouble, like her mother.”

“Hey!” Usagi blushed. “I don’t get into trouble all the time!” Mamoru chuckled as he smoothly drove into a parking spot. He turned off the engine but didn’t get out yet, leaning closer to her. They hadn’t been driving for long – where could they be going?

“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said. “And as much as I love Chibi Usa and thinking about her, tonight is about you. I only want to look and think about you. Okay?”

“Oh,” she whispered, staring into his eyes now that he was so close. “Okay.”

He leaned closer and gently kissed her forehead. Sliding back out of the car and to her side, he unlocked her door and held it open for her. Feeling a little dazed and out of breath, Usagi slipped out of the car and tripped right into Mamoru. Sensing this, Mamoru quickly wrapped his arms around her and kept her protected against his chest.

“Are you alright?” he whispered.

“You make my head spin,” Usagi whispered back, feeling more dazed now that she was back in his arms.

“Good,” Mamoru said, smiling. “I love making your head spin. Ready for dinner?”

At the mention of food, Usagi’s stomach made an audible sound. Laughing, Mamoru took her by the arm and led her into a building she hadn’t realized was there. Then again, she hadn’t realized anything in the world existed at that moment but her and Mamoru. When the air conditioning hit her in the face, she was stunned back to reality and she looked around.

There was a long, grand hallway before them but Mamoru took her to the right where a small elevator waited for them. He took her inside with one other man and asked for the top floor. Leaning back against Mamoru, Usagi looked out of the window at the beautiful Tokyo skyline and started wondering what Mamoru had in store for her. She had gossiped and strategized with Minako and Makoto all day yesterday about what dinner was going to be like, where he could be taking her, how expensive it would be, what he would do to make it special for her. She didn’t recognize the place just yet but it felt expensive and it felt trendy.

As the doors to the elevator opened, the man walked out and immediately went towards a table in the center of the room where two women were speaking loudly to each other. Mamoru tugged her out of the elevator for her to drink it all in. There were red lanterns strewn around the dark room and floor-to-ceiling windows at every wall. There were about twenty small, lovely tables and all but one was taken. The only empty one was beside one of the windows and overlooked the loveliest view of Tokyo Usagi had seen since visiting Crystal Tokyo in the future. To their left were a sushi bar and an open grill making tempura and filet mignon.

“This is Pleine Lune,” Usagi whispered, her eyes absorbing the skyline and the beautiful jade chopsticks at each table. It was the most exclusive, most expensive, most popular restaurant in Tokyo at the moment. A mixture of Japanese and French cuisine, they had only heard about it because Makoto received culinary magazines and mentioned that it was listed as the best restaurant in Tokyo and fifth in the world. It was so exclusive, so expensive, and so popular, the girls had continuously joked about it as the ultimate and unattainable date spot. She was so stunned that it was where they were having dinner, she barely moved when the hostess approached them.

“Hello and welcome to Pleine Lune,” she said, a wide smile on her face. There was a slight French accent to her words but she spoke Japanese very clearly. Usagi’s head swiveled a little and she smiled weakly. “Do you have a reservation?” the hostess asked, smiling at Usagi as if people regularly looked as if they were going to pass out in her presence.

“Yes,” Mamoru said, smiling politely. “Under “Chiba.” Is that our table?” he pointed to the one beside the best view of the city, as it was the only available spot.

“As requested,” the hostess said, motioning for them to follow her. Usagi had a little trouble walking to the table so Mamoru led her by the elbow, still smiling. “I’ll give you two a chance to take in the view before I take your order. My name is Lynette and I will be your server tonight.”

“Thank you,” Mamoru said, sitting forward and smiling at Usagi as if they always came to such high-end restaurants. Usagi just opened and closed her mouth as if she were drowning. Lynette bowed and walked away to speak for a moment with the sushi chef. Usagi took a deep breath and then stared at Mamoru.

“How?” was all she managed to say.

“I have my ways,” Mamoru said mysteriously, a large smile on his face.

“Makoto said this was one of the most popular restaurants in the world,” Usagi whispered, looking around.

“It also serves the best sushi I’ve ever eaten,” Mamoru said. “My friend Kazuo started it. We grew up together in our orphanage. I helped him get the loans to open his first restaurant and I worked in the kitchen for the first two years. He has since told me that I am welcome to come and bring anyone I want whenever I want.”

“Kazuo?” Usagi said. She felt a hollow ache in her chest at the mention of Mamoru’s orphanage. They had spoken of it once or twice but it made Mamoru sad to talk about it. They normally skirted around the issue of his upbringing – especially because of the recent news reports from America. “Have I ever met him?”

“No, he’s always busy,” Mamoru said. “He’s in Paris or London all the time, or in America opening new restaurants. I called him a few weeks ago to get a reservation here, for you.” The way he had said, “for you,” as if she was worth all of this – the view, the intimate setting, the entire place – made her melt.

“What did he think about you bringing a girl?” Usagi said, wriggling her eyebrows.

“He thought I was joking,” Mamoru said, scowling. It was the first grumpy expression he had made to her that night and Usagi felt a sweeping sense of relief. Mamoru was always heart-wrenchingly handsome but when he scowled, it was easier for her to look directly at him.

“Well, I can understand why,” Usagi said, taking a sip of water. “We don’t go out to such nice places often.”

“It isn’t that,” Mamoru said. “I haven’t talked to him in years. When he found out I had a girlfriend, he was determined to meet you. He said he had to see what kind of woman could finally get me to settle down.” The face Mamoru was making, as if he had swallowed something unpleasant, made Usagi giggle.

“I’d be happy to meet him,” Usagi said.

“I wonder if I should even let him see you. He’s a lady’s man,” Mamoru said glumly. “And much better-looking than me. Plus he has this great restaurant. When you eat the food, you might be so impressed you’ll leave me for him.”

“I just might,” Usagi teased. “You know how much I love to eat.”

“I’ll just have to open my own restaurant to fight for your love,” Mamoru sniffed, taking the menu and opening it stiffly. “The battle of the chefs. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“If I got to eat all the food you made, of course I would!” Usagi said, giggling. She smiled at Mamoru and he smiled back. Reaching across the table, she gripped his fingers and pulled them towards her face. Resting her forehead against his palm, she exhaled softly. “I’m so happy, Mamo-chan. I love being here with you like this. Thank you for bringing me.”

“I should take you out more often,” Mamoru whispered, gently cupping her face with his hand. “But I get so jealous when people stare at you. You’re too beautiful for your own good.”

“I could s-say the same thing!” Usagi said, blushing but pleased.

“Excuse me,” a voice behind Usagi said. They both looked up, separating their hands. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Do you need a few more minutes?” Lynette, the server, spread her hands to indicate the room. Usagi came off her cloud a bit and realized they must have been talking for some time.

“We’re ready, I think,” Mamoru said.

“Good,” Lynette said. “Kazuo sent ahead a specially tailored menu.” Lynette pulled out what appeared to be a second, shorter menu from her apron pocket and smiled. “He hopes you will enjoy it.”

“That’s just like him,” Mamoru smirked, waving away the menu. “Please bring the food out when it’s ready. He’ll be angry with me if we see the menu – I’m sure he wants to surprise us.”

“Is there anything in particular you would like to avoid? Any food allergies we should know about?” Lynette asked as she tucked the menu away.

“We’ll eat anything,” Mamoru said, smirking at Usagi. “Especially Usako. She’s like a black hole.”

“At least I don’t pick apart my food before I eat it,” Usagi said with a sniff. “You dissect it all before you eat it. Ruining perfectly good food!” Mamoru laughed and smiled at her as if she was the only person in the room. Usagi huffed but reddened at the attention.

“We’ll start with the champagne and work from there,” Lynette said, sounding pleased. She went back to the sushi counter and motioned to one of the other servers. He immediately brought a bottle of champagne and served each of them a glass. Usagi impatiently waited for the waiter to leave before she reached for the glass, eager to taste the sweet alcohol.

“I wonder if I should let you drink,” Mamoru said, sounding highly amused.

“We’re celebrating, aren’t we?” Usagi said, pouting. Mamoru just chuckled and shook his head. Lifting the flute of sparkling gold liquid, he held it towards her. They clinked glasses and smiled as they each took a careful sip. Usagi restrained herself from chugging the champagne and instead savored it, rolling the liquid on her tongue as she saw Mamoru doing. They both sighed appreciatively and grinned at each other.

“I should really take you out more,” Mamoru said, his tone much more serious than a moment before. “You’re so beautiful next to the Tokyo skyline.”

“Mmm,” Usagi said, preening. “You should. I’m a gorgeous girl! I can’t stay hidden at home all the time.”

“No, you can’t,” Mamoru said, his grave tone cutting through the teasing of Usagi’s words. She blinked, surprised that he seemed so serious about this. He rolled the liquid in his glass, staring out the window as if the answer lay there. “I wasn’t lying before. I really do get jealous when I see people staring at you. Sometimes I really do want to just hide you away and keep you to myself forever.”

“Mamo-chan,” Usagi whispered. “Mmm. It’s okay,” she brightened. “No matter how many people surround us, I’ll always be with you. When we’re in a room together, I only ever see you.”

“Usako…” Mamoru said. He frowned, obviously torn by some inner thought. When the first dish was set before them, the tension left him and he just smiled. “Kazuo… the show off. He’s going to spoil us tonight.”

“Yes, he is,” Lynette said cheerfully. Usagi stared down at the marvelous plate of sushi before her and began to salivate. It looked and smelled so delicious, she was tempted to shove the plate directly into her mouth. “Please let me know if you need anything,” Lynette said as she left them to it.

Dish after dish kept the couple occupied throughout the night. Usagi could not decide which was her favorite – each one seemed better than the last. Mamoru enjoyed watching Usagi eat, tasting the food before her sometimes to help her savor it more, slowing her down so she could enjoy the meal instead of inhale it, and all the while talking with her about every subject imaginable. They hadn’t sat down to talk about life outside Senshi duty in such a long time, Usagi felt almost as if she was meeting him again after a long separation. She felt like she was falling in love with him all over again and, with the tasty food and the wonderful view, it felt like she had died and gone to heaven. Mamoru, food, skyline… it was a dream come true.

“I can’t believe it,” a surprised and highly amused voice said from the entrance. Mamoru and Usagi automatically looked up as the man approached their table. He had slightly shaggy black hair stylishly spiked in the front, wore a white designer suit, and had lovely green eyes that made the rest of him seem to melt away. Two or three people immediately tried to approach him but he ignored them all, hand outstretched to shake Mamoru’s hand as he stood. They laughed and hugged like brothers, grinning brightly.

“Kazuo! It’s so good to see you again!” Mamoru beamed.

“You actually brought a girl! I can’t believe it! I thought you were trying to trick me!” Kazuo said, completely ignoring the greeting as he thumped Mamoru on the back. “Is she really a girl though? Maybe it’s all the makeup.” He peered at Usagi with those big green eyes and she couldn’t help it – she started laughing.

“Usako is definitely a girl,” Mamoru muttered, an exasperated smile on his face. “Usako, this is Kazuo, the one I was telling you about earlier. Kazuo, this is my girlfriend Usagi.”

“A pleasure to finally meet you,” Kazuo said, a brilliant smile revealing perfect white teeth as he shook her hand. It was obvious that he charmed many women with his good looks alone – he had a physical magnetism that drew people to him. Usagi smiled back and shook his hand, her entire face radiating with joy. Kazuo stopped smiling, seemingly stunned by her energy.

“I’ve wanted to meet Mamo-chan’s friends forever!” Usagi said, oblivious to the reaction she had inspired in Kazuo. “We never talk about… um, Mamo-chan’s childhood… so I really wanted to meet you when he said you grew up together.”

“Ah…” Kazuo said, still looking a little dazed. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and then grinned again. “Well… well yes, we grew up together.” He paused and glanced at Mamoru. He didn’t appear to have the same problem Kazuo was having, looking directly at Usagi’s brilliant smiling face. “I’ll have you know,” Kazuo said, struggling to regain his easy grace, “that your precious Mamo-chan can be a real bully sometimes. You won’t believe some of the things he did as a child!”

“Kazuo,” Mamoru said, sounding mortified. Before he could stop the conversation from continuing, Usagi let out a rather un-ladylike guffaw and conspiratorially waved his comment away.

“If you think he was bad growing up, you should see what he was like when we first met! We hated each other!” she said gleefully.

“Odango…” Mamoru muttered, trying to cut their conversation.

“See?” Usagi said, just as cheerfully. “He started calling me Odango Atama,” she motioned up to her hair, “and he used to make fun of me all the time! He said I would explode to the size of a hippo because I love to eat! And I’m kind of clumsy,” she looked a little put-out now, “so he would make fun of me when I accidently tripped into him or threw something and it happened to land on him.”

“On my head,” Mamoru said defensively.

“Whatever,” Usagi said dismissively. “And he would purposefully trip me if I wanted to play a game at the Arcade…”

“That was Rei!” Mamoru said, hands on his hips. Usagi paused in mid-breath and blinked at him. They stared at each other for a moment, her face blank with surprise, his red with indignation, and they both started laughing.

“You’re a couple of loonies,” Kazuo said, eyeing them. Mamoru continued to laugh as he sat down, instinctively reaching out to squeeze Usagi’s hand. They smiled at each other as if there was no one else in the room. Kazuo watched their interlaced fingers, the way they seemed magnetically drawn to each other, and he beamed.

“I had no idea you two were so serious about each other,” he said softly. With a determined nod, he ignored the ten people that had gathered behind him. They coughed into their hands, or tried to grab his sleeve, or even called him by name. He ignored them all, grabbed an empty chair from another table and sat with Usagi and Mamoru. Putting his chin on his elbows, he grinned at them. “I hope you still have room for more – dessert hasn’t come out yet.”

“More food?” Usagi said. Her tone of voice made Mamoru groan and Kazuo beam all the more. He really loved girls who loved to eat. Although where she was putting all the extra pounds, he had no clue. She looked very slender from where he sat.

“That’s my Odango,” Mamoru said fondly. “Always thinking with her stomach.”

...

Kazuo kept the couple entertained for well over three hours. It was very late as Mamoru and Usagi drove to Mamoru’s apartment, a complimentary bottle of champagne in the backseat with a sworn oath to invite them to his next party whenever he was back in Tokyo.

Mamoru glanced at Usagi, discreetly taking in her petite feet in their high heels (she hadn’t tripped at all since they had parked – it was something of a miracle), her long slender legs, her lovely dress, the narrow waist, her slender arms wrapped around her chest, and her closed-eyed expression of bliss. He parked the car and stepped out to open her door, feeling the warm buzz of alcohol in his legs and the warmer pressure of Usagi’s arm in his as he led her to his apartment.

They took the elevator up to his floor in silence, both happy and a little sleepy as they went to his door. He let her in but kept the lights off, tugging her towards his bedroom from memory. Usagi paused to kick off her heels and then followed him into his bedroom. Mamoru paused and turned around, squinting to see her in the darkness.

She stood with her back to him, her face turned towards the open window. The moon seemed especially large in front of her, making her long golden hair look silver in the moonlight. Her dress no longer appeared black but rather dark silver, covering her in its glow. When she turned to face him, he could see the mark of the moon on her forehead in his mind’s eye. She looked like Princess Serenity, not Usagi Tsukino. The transformation didn’t surprise or bother him, only made him more aware of his own past life.

Usagi’s perspective was much the same as Mamoru’s. He was bathed in shadow so that she couldn’t see his clothes or his expression. If she squinted, she could envision him in armor and a cape of darkness. His blue eyes pierced that darkness as he looked back at her, the moon’s reflection in his eyes.

They stared at each other remembering their shared history. Their love felt like a physical thing, like glue that fused them together. Mamoru broke the tension by stepping into the moonlight beside her. The spell was broken – he saw Usagi again. Her love, however, was much deeper…

“Serenity,” Mamoru said without thinking. She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning closer to him.

“Endymion,” she whispered back as he kissed her.

It felt like the first time. It felt right. It felt like, this time, it would never be the last.

...

Haruka walked along the roof of the building with her sword of power in hand, her eyes following the shadows the moon cast. Michiru stood on the opposite building, her mirror directed outward to reflect the negative energy a youma would emit. It was very late – or very early, depending on who you talked to – as they made their way around their last patrol area.

They hadn’t found a single trace of negative energy all night. It made Haruka feel itchy behind her shoulder blades, an unsatisfying sensation that made her tense and nervous. Where were the youma? They had sensed a negative presence earlier but now it had vanished. The presence turned out to be their paranoia.

“It’s here,” Michiru said softly. She sensed the doubt in her partner as they joined each other on the next roof.

“Where is it?” Haruka said, still feeling anxious. She hated the waiting – she had no fear when it came to battling hideous monsters directly in front of her. It was the waiting for them to show up that made her life impossible. “Why won’t it come out? We’ve been searching all night.”

“It’s here,” Michiru said again, her usually serene voice sounding ominous.

“Mmm,” Haruka said. Michiru had been saying that phrase “It’s here,” the entire night. This felt like a bad murder-mystery novel.

Something flashed in front of Michiru’s mirror and they both sprang apart. A moment later, the roof caved in and someone inside the building screamed. Michiru leapt from roof to roof, following after Haruka as they blindly ran. In their wake, bolts of energy smashed into the buildings. A human-sized monster flew out from under a fire escape and directed an enormous ball of energy at Michiru.

“World Shaking!” Haruka screamed when she saw the creature, fisting her power and sending it directly at the youma. Surprised by the counter attack, the youma screeched as it got hit directly in the face. Michiru dodged the attack and fisted her own power, sending it at the ball of energy.

“Deep Reflection!” she sang, smashing the energy so that it exploded harmlessly above another building. The two Senshi jumped down into a park, running for cover under some trees. The youma, recovered from its surprise, went after them but quickly lost them in the trees.

“Take it from the back,” Michiru whispered to Haruka as they separated. Michiru dodged in front of it and ran like a deer over the paved road. The youma immediately chased her, sending energy ball after energy ball into trees, bushes, fountain, and park bench alike. Haruka waited for the right moment and came up behind it, fisting her power into a more concentrated, powerful attack.

“World Shaking!” she cried. The youma didn’t even have time to turn around before the energy streaked forward in a ball of light and ripped off the bottom part of its body. Shrieking with surprise and pain, the youma collapsed on the ground and weakly tried to crawl away from them.

Michiru and Haruka came together around it, blocking its escape. “Who do you work for?” Haruka demanded. The creature, trapped between the Senshi, shrieked with terror. Michiru held the mirror up to reflect the creature’s reflection back at it.

“S-She’ll kill me!” the monster said. “I’ll never talk! Never! She’ll kill me!”

“Not if we kill you first,” Michiru said, her voice icy and terrifying.

“N-No! No! No!” the monster thrashed on the ground, its torn torso leaking what looked like green guts and blood. Neither Senshi flinched at the death throws as the monster died before them.

“Who sent you?” Haruka said, gripping the creature’s shoulder and squeezing. The strength in her hand was impressive and the monster screamed.

“Never!” it shrieked. The liquid leaking out of it began to shimmer like gold dust. “Never!”

“We can make you talk,” Michiru said. The creature began to cry, writhing and shrieking on the ground.

An arrow streaked just behind Michiru’s shoulder and thunked squarely into the creature’s forehead. It stopped screaming and simply slumped backwards. The dust radiating from the torso dissolved the entire body and it burst into dust. Cursing, Haruka whirled around but there was no one behind them. Michiru and Haruka split up and searched the park and surrounding buildings but could find no trace of the mysterious assassin.

“We lost our only lead,” Haruka said, smashing her fist into a nearby building. The brick crumbled and slid off the wall to the floor. “Dammit… we’ve got nothing.”

“For now,” Michiru said, eyeing the shadows speculatively. “We need to report back to Setsuna with our findings.”

“Yes,” Haruka said, looking up at the sky. It had darkened as clouds rolled in from the coast. The breaking dawn was blocked from view as ominous thunder shook the ground.

...

Usagi loved waking up in Mamoru’s apartment, in Mamoru’s bed, with Mamoru’s arms wrapped around her. It was unusual for her to awaken before him but on this occasion, she carefully twisted in his arms to find his sleeping face a breath away from her own. She stared at him for a few moments, her eyes drinking in every detail. His eyelashes were long and thick, his skin a lovely tan after a few days in the park, studying. He had a few scars on his arm from various childhood accidents and delicate fingernails. She took one of his hands and kissed the palm, breathing in his smell.

The night before had been long and wonderful, which was the whole reason Mamoru was too tired to wake up that morning and make her breakfast, as was his usual ritual. She considered braving the kitchen herself but she knew she was more likely to set the apartment on fire than to make adequate toast to surprise him. Even the coffee machine proved haunted in her presence, somehow spraying boiling liquid directly at the unlucky individuals beside her. So she stayed in bed, happily cuddled up beside Mamoru, feeling his heartbeat against her hand and his soft breathing on her hair.

“I love you,” she whispered, pleased with the world.

“Love you too,” he murmured. She blinked and looked at his closed eyes. He cracked one open and grinned.

“Morning,” she said, grinning.

“Morning, beautiful,” he murmured. Usagi beamed, burying her face in his chest. He gently stroked her back and then stretched, his toes curling the covers around his legs as he yawned. “Mmm… coffee,” he said.

“Coffee,” Usagi said with a giggle, smiling up at him. They crawled out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Usagi buttoned Mamoru’s shirt halfway and tugged her hair free behind her. Mamoru stretched as he pushed the button on his coffee machine, tugging his pants from the night before back onto his body. They stood together next to the coffee machine, Usagi untangling her hair wearing only Mamoru’s shirt and Mamoru getting out his mug and sugar wearing only his pants.

“Last night was wonderful,” Usagi said, beaming at him. Mamoru grinned as he popped some toast into the toaster and went to the fridge.

“It was,” he said contentedly. Usagi reflected with a happy smile that Mamoru was really handsome after a night of making love. He seemed more relaxed somehow, as if spending the night with her unfurled some hidden tension he didn’t even know he had. When they were together, everything seemed at peace.

“I liked your friend,” Usagi said, leaning her forehead against his arm. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. He leaned back against the counter and rested his forehead against hers, staring directly into her eyes. The stance was intimate and welcome.

“I think he has a crush on you,” Mamoru lamented, a lazy smile cutting through his disapproving tone. “I’ll have to work hard to keep him away from you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Usagi said, swatting at his arm. “I’m glad he cares so much about you. It makes me worry a little less about you growing up alone.”

“You don’t have to worry,” Mamoru said, not sounding tense at all. It was a first considering how anxious he normally got whenever the subject of his childhood came up. “I didn’t have it so bad. It was lonely, sure, but guys like Kazuo really helped me get through it. Besides,” he paused and looked away, then back at her intensely, “I figure I’ve gotten the best gift of all for waiting so long. I have you and I could never want anything else.”

“Oh,” Usagi whispered, drowning in his stare. She instinctively rose up on her toes and kissed him, closing her eyes as he kissed her back.

“I’ll get some eggs,” Mamoru said, sounding a little out of breath as he released her. Usagi too felt dazed every time she kissed him and let him slip from her grasp to cook breakfast. She slid up and sat on the counter, kicking her legs as she watched him cook. He kept his eyes firmly on the food, denying himself the pleasure of watching her in such an innocent pose. She usually looked like a very young girl whenever she wore his huge clothing.

The apartment was pleasantly quiet with the sounds of the pan on the stove and the utensils as he set the table. Outside, the sun was just starting to peek out over the horizon, tinting everything in gold. He liked this kind of comfortable silence with the gentle tap of Usagi’s heels on the drawers and the sizzle of the eggs in the pan.

He put the omelet on a plate and glanced back at her. She was staring at him dreamily, her gaze warm and her arms wrapped around herself. She didn’t look like a little girl anymore, a surprised part of him noted. She looked like a grown woman. A very sexy, delicious woman sitting on his counter wearing only his shirt. Mamoru, who usually tried not to think of Usagi in any kind of sexual way, found himself staring at her and considering the best way to get her out of his shirt and back into his bedroom.

“Something wrong, Mamo-chan?” Usagi interrupted his fantasizing, a curious look on her face. He continued to stare at her and then slowly looked away. It was physically painful to do so.

“No,” he said lightly as he set the plates on the table. He tried not to look at her but his eyes betrayed him and landed on her again. She had crossed her legs and leaned forward so that he couldn’t help but notice her cleavage. He didn’t normally notice it… he normally never had reason to stare at anything but her lovely face. Right now though, his shirt was mostly unbuttoned and he knew she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. And the fabric, because the shirt was so big on her, had scrunched up to draw attention to that part of her body. So he couldn’t help it.

“You sure?” she said worriedly. “You look a little red.”

“Oh?” Mamoru said, forcing his eyes up to her face. Concern marred her features and she started to slide off the counter. He didn’t know how but he was suddenly in front of her, keeping her on the counter. He hadn’t consciously decided to get close to her – he just had. “You look good in my shirt,” Mamoru said, playing with a strand of her long hair. She looked at his hand with some surprise and then back up at his face. His eyes momentarily flicked down to her chest – the view was much better close up – and then back to her eyes.

“You sure you’re okay?” Usagi said, feeling a little warm herself. She relaxed her legs and pressed her knees against his hips. The thought of a similar position earlier the night before made her blush and realize why the look on his face was familiar – he’d looked at her the same way the night before.

“Usako,” Mamoru whispered, clenching his eyes. “I’m having… some trouble.”

“Oh,” Usagi murmured, realizing what kind of trouble he meant. It was poking her in the thigh. “M-Mamo-chan,” she whispered, feeling heat flood her cheeks. She was still very new to the act of physical love. Part of her wondered if it was even physically possible to do what she and Mamoru had done the night before, again – it felt too explosive and intimate to occur a second time, especially the following morning.

“I’m trying to decide something… maybe you can help me,” Mamoru said, leaning closer. His hands slid up along her thighs and around her hips. Usagi felt that his hands had set her on fire. “Are you okay with eating breakfast after it gets cold?”

“Ngh,” she said. She didn’t wait for him to change his mind – she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. For his part, Mamoru didn’t even act surprised by her enthusiasm. He just wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her, carrying her back to his room.

It wasn’t until an hour later that Mamoru came running back into the kitchen, wearing only a sheet, to turn off the stove.


	11. Ripple Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The darkness cloaked her as she ran. Born of shadows, thriving in shadows, the Shadow Archer felt alive only in the absence of light. She loathed it, shrank from it like a coward as she slid between worlds to the darkness of the Shadow Realm. It was a twisted world of pure shadow – it was her birthplace.
> 
> Shadow Archer leapt across the wasteland, searching for the hidden entrance to the castle. Two youma hissed as she approached but drew back when they recognized her. She glided across the hallways, down into the depths of the dark castle. A faint light emanated from the throne room as she approached and she hesitated, hating that light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Just wanted to thank those who left me kudos and are enjoying the story :) thanks for your support!

The darkness cloaked her as she ran. Born of shadows, thriving in shadows, the Shadow Archer felt alive only in the absence of light. She loathed it, shrank from it like a coward as she slid between worlds to the darkness of the Shadow Realm. It was a twisted world of pure shadow – it was her birthplace.

Shadow Archer leapt across the wasteland, searching for the hidden entrance to the castle. Two youma hissed as she approached but drew back when they recognized her. She glided across the hallways, down into the depths of the dark castle. A faint light emanated from the throne room as she approached and she hesitated, hating that light.

Bracing herself, she slipped into the well-lit throne room and dropped to her knees, bowing before the throne. A man sat on the magnificent onyx structure, one leg dangling over the arm of the chair and the other tapping on the floor. He held a crystal goblet in one pale hand, his long white fingers stroking the gems as he drank from it. His eyes were a deep crimson, his black hair long and straight. It pooled on the floor, a shadow against a shadow, as those eyes slowly turned toward Shadow Archer.

“Report,” he said. Shadow Archer ducked her head and stared at the floor, her heart hammering in her chest.

“I had to kill one of our scouts,” Shadow Archer said. There was a long silence with only the soft scuttle of dead things to interrupt the tension.

“That is ridiculous,” the man said. “There is no need to do such a thing. Why?”

“The scout would have revealed information about us,” Shadow Archer said. She slowly looked up, staring at a point over his shoulder. “Two enemies were torturing her. They wanted information.”

“There is no living creature on this planet who could sense, much less torture, a youma. How did she get caught?” The voice was closer now, the long black hair trailing behind him like a cloak. Shadow Archer shivered, sensing the displeasure in her master. She ducked her head and clenched her eyes to avoid looking into his disapproving eyes.

“These were… strange warriors,” Shadow Archer said with some difficulty. “They wore… strange uniforms. Spoke in… in your language,” she looked up nervously. “They did not speak as humans with their limited meanings and garbled tongue. I could understand them perfectly.” She looked down again. “And they used such weapons of strength that I did not dare show my face. They dispatched her easily… as if she were no more than a moth trapped in a bear trap.”

“Oh?” the man said thoughtfully. He paused beside her and then walked back to his throne, resting on the arm as he watched her thoughtfully. “It has been many centuries since any humans had the power to fight youma. Perhaps they have resurfaced from Elysium? It would certainly be interesting… considering those strange beings in the military compound.”

“My lord?” Shadow Archer looked up again. “Did you not say that those… creatures were mere actors? That the King and Queen of Earth would not be so stupid as to expose themselves so stridently? And with such few guards?”

“It was not just those fools who proved it,” the man said with a sneer. “I have never heard of these Senshi who sully the name of warrior. Pluto and Saturn are lifeless planets… there was never proof that Senshi existed there, even a millennia ago.”

“… the warriors I saw…” Shadow Archer said slowly. “They wore the same uniform as the Senshi on the television. They were powerful.”

“They are liars,” the man said dismissively. “Perhaps for humans they have a certain amount of strength to attack and defeat youma, but they cannot dream to possess the terrifying power of a Senshi. You are young… you have never seen the power they possess. Stars tremble before them…” his eyes glazed over, seeing something from long ago.

“They were a strength unparalleled by any other. The only ones who could fight them were other Senshi.” He shook his head to clear a memory. “I do find it interesting that these abominations dare to use the Senshi name. If nothing else, they must have knowledge of the outer planets. Certainly no humans know of the Senshi… except for those of Elysium.”

“Is there no possibility that the women posing as Senshi might actually BE Senshi?” she asked.

“Certainly not,” he said with a snort. “It is impossible. Not even the inner planets have been fooled. I have intercepted numerous messages between Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus that testify against their validity. Their Senshi are long dead. To even respond to the humans now would be an insult to their memory.”

“What would you have me do, Sire?” Shadow Archer said. She felt relieved that her report had not resulted in a brutal punishment – her master so hated to be disappointed.

“Watch them for now,” he said. “Watch all of them… the actors in the military compound and those stupid fools who use the Senshi name. If nothing else, I will entertain myself with their deaths.”

“Of course,” Shadow Archer said. Excitement built in her blood, making her eager to leave. The sooner she could return to the human world, the sooner she could kill those who displeased her master.

...

Minako’s eyes snapped open before her alarm, just as they did every morning. She stared at the ceiling, wondering as she always did, why was she awake? Nothing had woken her, nothing seemed out of place or a danger. She was simply awake before the rising of the sun and she was perfectly calm. Her muscles were also extremely tense and ready to spring her out of bed with the slightest sound.

This had happened ever since she was a little girl. She would wake up right before dawn and stare at the ceiling, wondering why she was awake when she had a good few hours left to rest before she had to go to school. Her mother would come in screaming for her to get up, at least in the beginning, and she would pretend she had been asleep the entire time. But she never was – she could never sleep once the sun decided it wanted to come out.

It didn’t even matter what she had done the previous day. If she had a brutal battle, if she stayed up until three in the morning cramming for a test, if she hadn’t slept in two days, she still awoke the next morning before dawn, staring at the ceiling without a hint of sleep left in her. And she also pretended, every morning, that she had been asleep all along whenever someone found her in that state.

“Minako,” a sleepy voice next to her pillow said. She looked over at Artemis, watching him stretch and yawn. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eye, pretending she just woke up. “Mmm… are you up? Wow, it’s early. Did I wake you?” he yawned. Blinking at her alarm, he looked back at her. “You sick?”

“Nu uh,” she said. “Must have had a bad dream,” she supplied as she got out of bed. With a long stretch, she opened one eye and glanced out the window. It was still dark out… but she wasn’t a bit sleepy. “I guess I can take a shower,” she said.

“Mmm,” Artemis said, already curling up on her rumpled bed, snuggling into her leftover body heat. “Wake me before you leave. I’ll walk you to school.”

“Okay,” Minako said distractedly as she headed for the shower.

She went through her usual morning routine, only about an hour earlier, and came back to her room just in time to turn off her alarm as it went off. Couldn’t disturb her parents… Artemis sat up and yawned at the first noise of the alarm, eyeing her sleepily.

“It’s still pretty early,” he said. “Did you get any breakfast yet?”

“I’m fine,” Minako said. “Actually… do you mind if I walk alone? I want to go by the Shrine and talk to Rei before she leaves. If I catch her, maybe I can finally make her late to class.” She grinned at the idea.

Artemis snorted. “Unlikely. The only one who’ll be late is you.” He paused and glanced at the clock again. “Or maybe not today. Are you sure you aren’t feeling sick?”

“Of course,” Minako said without pausing to look at him.

“Should you tell your parents?” Artemis asked, watching her flit across the room. She didn’t look at him for a moment and then smiled at him.

“They won’t even notice I’m gone,” she said as she waved and hurried out the door. Artemis started to follow her but she closed the front door after her before he could get a word out. He watched her blonde hair through the window, a worried pinch forming on his forehead.

“Minako…” he said softly. “I wonder what’s the matter…”

...

The sun slanted over the skyscrapers, ricocheting light in the darkest of alleys. At first it didn’t bother her as the day perked up and shook itself like a bird rising from its nest. But then her shoulders grew tense and she jumped every time she heard a car horn or the skid of walking feet. Minako felt the gloom sinking into her bones, making her resentful of the bright sky and the occasional cheerful joggers who passed her. She plastered a bright smile on her face and forged ahead, desperate to reach Rei’s temple before she strangled someone.

She wasn’t normally this annoyed in the morning; she just couldn’t get a nervous kink out of her system. She didn’t know why but she had a strange feeling, an itch between her shoulder blades where she couldn’t reach. Whenever she felt that way, she sought out Rei – her presence soothed her normally frazzled nerves and helped her to be herself. It also helped to know that Rei often had bad moods at the same time as Minako, usually as a result of heavy youma activity developing in the area.

Or it was spring and all the lovey dovey couples seemed to pop out everywhere they turned. But it didn’t feel like the second one… despite passing at least five couples walking demurely in the park. It was enough to make her feel a little crazy. She picked up her pace and jogged around some buildings, sidestepping the tables of a small café, and taking a shortcut through an alley before she stumbled to a halt in front of the temple stairs. Taking a deep, calming breath, Minako carefully looked around. To her left, the street had three cars parked along the curb but there were no people. To her right, trees… and one fairly innocent-looking squirrel. So… alone. She took one final look around before she grinned mischievously. With a quick intake of breath, she leapt up the stairs at superhuman speed. What should have taken ten minutes only took ten seconds.

Taking one final look around to make sure no one had seen her little stunt, she flicked her long hair over one shoulder and walked ahead slowly, as if she hadn’t just broken one of the big rules every Senshi had drilled into them since day one: don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Hell, it was a rule she usually enforced. She was the Senshi who had worked the longest so she knew the value of secrecy. But for some reason, today was setting her on edge. She grinned, thinking of how she could smoke anyone on the track team… if only she would allow herself to compete. She sniffed, feeling pretty content with herself.

Minako hesitated in front of the torii, drinking in the soothing shade and the soft cawing of Phobos and Deimos overhead. She smiled at the birds as she humbly walked towards the shrine, offering a quick prayer before walking on. To her right was the public hall of worship, where an elderly couple stood poised beneath a large bell. They clapped their hands, bowed, and rung the bell to complete their prayers before they smiled at each other and walked back towards the entrance. Minako waited until they had descended the staircase before she went around the hall and past the offering hall where Rei meditated, towards the sacred sanctuary where the sacred fire was kept.

The fire was burning brighter and stronger than usual, illuminating the raven-haired priestess who knelt before it with her hands clasped in meditation. Minako removed her shoes and bowed humbly before stepping over the threshold towards Rei. She felt the gentle ebb and give of a barrier as she sat behind Rei, feeling her friend’s power in the room. Of all the Senshi, Rei had the most awe-inspiring presence, especially when she meditated.

“I’m having nightmares,” Rei said quietly. With a soft whoosh of breath, she expelled her aura into the fire, which blazed for a moment and then quieted. “I was meditating before bed… asking if the people in America are who they say they are.”

“Did you find something out about them?” Minako said. “Are they youma?”

“I don’t know,” Rei said, sounding a tad frustrated. “Normally the fire answers questions that I ask, not questions that I DON’T ask…”

“Eh?” Minako said intelligently. Rei finally turned away from the fire and looked at her, power crackling all around her. Minako’s heart stopped for a moment, staring at the being… the totally alien being… sitting right next to her.

“I asked the fire about the people in America,” Rei explained. “But it warned me about something completely different… there is an evil presence coming, SOON.” She scowled, looking more like the Rei she knew. Minako relaxed a little, taking in her words.

“Any idea how much time?” Minako said.

“No,” Rei said, shaking her head. “I just have this great sense of urgency. Something bad is going to happen soon, something that we’ve only marginally suspected. It’s bigger than anything I’ve felt in a long time.”

“Organized youma?” Minako said, dread building in her veins. They hadn’t faced an organized attack since Galaxia, and that had been a while ago. They’d thus far only seen the occasional, weak youma who served only to get them all riled up for nothing.

“I think so,” Rei said. “But I can’t be sure. The fire isn’t… accurate.”

“At least we have the warning,” Minako said. “Right… we’ll have a meeting today. I’ll let Usagi and the others know at school – we can meet up in the evening when everyone has finished their club activities.”

“I wish we could meet now,” Rei said, frowning. “I don’t like this feeling… but it’s like I’m being blocked. I can’t see what’s coming.”

“I understand,” Minako said, licking her lips. “But as much as I’d like to drop everything for a meeting, I’m not sure it’s necessary to disrupt our lives so suddenly in case a youma attack occurs. It might be unified but it doesn’t mean youma will drop from the sky everywhere and force an immediate response from us. I think we’ll have a little more time than that…”

“… you’re right,” Rei said, shaking herself and then smiling. “Tonight will be soon enough… I’m sure the others will grumble a little even at that.” She glanced back at the fire, her eyes unfocused for a moment. “I just can’t shake this feeling…” While she stared at the fire, Minako took the opportunity to observe Rei. She looked a little tired, her skin slightly pinched around the eyes and her lips pursed with worry. But she looked hyper alert and tense, waiting even now for an attack.

“Keep your transformation pen handy,” Minako said as she unfolded her long legs under her. Rei followed suit, biting her bottom lip. “I trust your feelings… I’ll send out at least a warning to the other Senshi right now so they’re ready too.” Rei looked as if she was about to protest but stopped, hunching her shoulders for a moment before relaxing them.

“Thanks,” Rei said. “I don’t mean to cry wolf, I just can’t shake this feeling. I think its worse because the fire won’t give me anything specific. If I knew what to expect, it would be easier.”

Minako draped an arm around Rei’s shoulders and laughed, loud and obnoxious. “Now you know how the rest of us non-psychic people feel!” she said. Rei arched an eyebrow and shoved Minako away, only to have the blonde girl laugh at her. Rei cracked a smile and followed Minako out into the blinding light of day. Minako stretched, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She glanced back at Rei, who was rubbing her eyes and squinting as if she had just come out of a cave. They stared at each other.

“How did you know I needed you here this morning?” Rei asked softly. Phobos descended from a nearby tree and alighted on her shoulder. Deimos cawed and looked behind them, hopping on the branch.

“I… just did,” Minako said, feeling strangely helpless. Why had she immediately wanted to go to Rei this morning? She could have gone to see Makoto, she lived closer to Minako and was much better at getting her into a good mood than Rei. With Rei, it was a toss up – sometimes she was a great friend to make her feel better and sometimes she was a bossy jerk who made everyone, especially herself, miserable. So why…?

“You look exhausted,” Rei mumbled. They stared at each other, neither moving. A soft breeze stirred their hair and shifted Phobos’s feathers but neither reacted. “You should try to get more sleep.”

“Can’t,” Minako said, grinning without humor. “But thanks anyway.”

...

Usagi thought she knew now what it meant to wake up in heaven. A light, warm feeling hummed in her body as she awoke to Mamoru’s arms draped around her and his handsome, sleeping face pressed into her hair. She carefully tilted her head back and stared at him, feeling his body heat soak her in happiness as his breath stirred her bangs.

He awoke moments later to tell her good morning, give her a gentle kiss, say he loved her, and then he made them breakfast. It was very early and neither wanted to go back to sleep, so each took a quick shower and changed into some clothes. Usagi had to wear the same thing she’d worn the day before, as she hadn’t exactly had time to get anything new to wear with Mamoru’s hands roaming all over her body for the majority of the day. She didn’t mind too much.

They departed from Mamoru’s apartment, neither in too much of a hurry, towards Usagi’s house. Mamoru had one arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other hand in his pocket, grinning at everything. Usagi had entwined her fingers with the ones at her shoulder and had her other arm wrapped around his waist, leaning against him as they walked. It was already sunny and while Usagi should have been rushing to go home and change into her school uniform, she couldn’t help but enjoy being pressed up against Mamoru like this. He never let her be this close to him in public – he was always so conscience of what other people thought – but his good mood blinded him from the curious or disapproving stares of those they passed.

“I won’t take too long,” Usagi said, smiling at Mamoru. She didn’t want to let go of him but she was already in her neighborhood, only three houses away from her own. As if programmed, Mamoru’s fingers gently disentangled from hers and he released her, putting both hands in his pockets and giving them a good foot of personal space. Usagi sighed with regret but then brightened, remembering their date… and the entire next day they had spent in bed together. Her mom would kill her, and her father would kill him if he knew, but she just couldn’t let anything spoil her good mood.

“Bye,” Usagi said, leaning up to kiss him. Mamoru carefully took a step back, making it look natural, and smiled warmly at her. She felt the sting of rejection, mentally going through placations for his desire to remain platonic in public, and walked to her front door.

“I’ll be here,” Mamoru said. Usagi blinked and glanced over her shoulder at him, rummaging in her bag for her keys. “I’ll walk you to school.”

“Oh,” Usagi said, her previous annoyance melting away. “Okay!” She hurried into her house and up to her room. As she changed, her mother loomed in the doorway of her room with her arms crossed and a spatula in one hand. Usagi cringed with her head halfway through her shirt, sensing the angry presence.

“Where have you been?” her mother demanded imperiously.

“Um,” Usagi said meekly as she finished adjusting her shirt. “O-Out?”

“I can see that,” her mother said in a dangerous tone. “Why didn’t you come home yesterday?”

“I… I…” and then, Usagi broke down completely into full-grovel mode. “I’m so sorry Mama! It’s just, Mamoru and I had such a great time, and then we spent the day together, and it just felt right to spend the night again because I didn’t want to wake you, and then he swore he’d get me back in time to change and get to school before I was late, and PLEASE DON’T BE MAD!” She promptly dropped into a deep bow, hiding her face behind her hair.

“You spent the night at Mamoru’s?” an incredulous voice said from behind Ikuko. Usagi’s face burned as she rose from her bow to see Shingo ogling her, his mouth hanging open. “And Mom knows?”

“I gave my consent,” Usagi’s mother said with a sniff. She didn’t appear quite as menacing now that they had an audience but the humiliation intensified with Shingo there.

“Does Dad know? He’ll completely flip out!” Shingo said, sounding more and more awed. Normally, he would have hung this over Usagi’s head for years just to get some worthy blackmail material. Sure, he liked Mamoru, maybe even hero-worshipped him a little, but that wouldn’t stop him from endlessly tormenting Usagi for the rest of her days in exchange for keeping quiet.

“Your father will not know about this incident,” Ikuko said in a frightening voice. The command in it reverberated throughout the house, into the Earth, and out to the universe. It was the sort of thing Usagi and Shingo knew never to cross.

Sufficiently cowed, Shingo looked down and fiddled with the straps of his backpack. “Yeah… he’d completely lose it. And he’d probably kill Mamoru.”

“I want grandchildren,” Ikuko said with an insane glint in her eye. This normally would have made Usagi roll her eyes, as Shingo was rolling his eyes, but the subject was a tender one ever since Chibi Usa had waltzed into her life, so Usagi only stared at her socks and bit her tongue. “Just don’t do it again,” her mother was saying, waving the Spatula of Doom in Usagi’s general direction. Usagi nodded quickly, keeping her eyes down.

“I have to go,” Usagi said, risking a glance at her mother. “Ah… Mamoru’s still outside. He said he’d walk me to school.”

“You guys spent the day together and you still can’t stand being two minutes apart? Jeez,” Shingo said teasingly. Ikuko, preening at this, casually looked out of Usagi’s window and waved to Mamoru. Mamoru must have waved back because Ikuko giggled like a schoolgirl and hurried down to the kitchen. A second later, Usagi heard her mother open the front door and invite Mamoru for breakfast.

“I think she’s trying to kill me with embarrassment to punish me,” Usagi grumbled as she grabbed her school bag and hurried down the stairs, Shingo at her heels. Her brother snorted and lightly bonked her on the head between her odangos.

“Serves you right,” he said lightly. He immediately went to greet Mamoru, who had politely declined breakfast, and discussed something Usagi couldn’t quite catch. She paused by the stairs for a moment, smiling faintly as she watched her mother, Shingo, and Mamoru talk comfortably for a few moments. It was nice… not sneaking around, having them talk to her boyfriend as if they were all one big family. Then she heard the chime from the kitchen clock and screeched, rushing to grab Mamoru’s hand.

“Sorry gonna be late bye!” she said in a rush as she dragged Mamoru behind her, leaving a dust trail in her wake.

Even though she was going to be late, even though her mother had embarrassed her shamelessly, Usagi just laughed and laughed. Mamoru chased after her, his wrist captured in her grip as they rounded a corner. Usagi tripped over her own feet and shrieked, even as Mamoru dragged her back against him. They paused for breath, staring at each other incredulously, then they laughed and continued running.

...

Usagi hurried to her desk and slumped in her chair, still breathing hard and grinning. She hadn’t been late – somehow. It didn’t seem possible. Part of her wished she HAD been late, if only to spend a few more seconds with Mamoru smiling at her. She grinned and waved as Minako dashed to her seat and Makoto shook her head at them. Usagi grinned and turned to Naru, her smile widening.

“I can’t believe you weren’t late!” she said by way of a greeting. She leaned on her palm and stared at Usagi, her smile widening. “Wow… you look so…”

“Eh?” Usagi said, blinking.

“… radiant,” Naru finished, struggling for words. That was about as close as she could get. Usagi looked like a sun goddess, her golden hair a little wild around her face and her cheeks bright with healthy color. Her eyes danced merrily around the room and she just… her smile was just so… “why are you so happy, huh? Did your date with Mamoru go that well?”

“Oh,” Usagi said, a pleasant blushing spreading over her cheeks. She curled her fingers under her notebook and grinned at Naru. “Our date only ended about… ten minutes ago.”

“Ten-, wait a minute,” Naru said, blinking as she lifted her chin from her hand. “I thought you went on a date last-,”

“I stayed the night,” Usagi whispered happily. She glanced around to make sure no one else was listening, then added, “and all of yesterday, too.”

“Oh,” Naru breathed, her eyes widening as she blushed. She had a very sudden, very graphic image of her best friend having the most outrageously satisfying sex with her boyfriend. It wasn’t a scene she wanted played out in her imagination so early in the morning, but it was also such a disgustingly romantic idea that she sighed happily. “You lucky girl!”

The door slid open and a new boy entered the room. Usagi glanced up briefly, surprised to see such a good-looking guy come into their classroom. He looked a bit nervous, his brown hair framing a decidedly masculine face, and bright brown eyes. He seemed a little lost as he looked around the room. Some of the girls had started hurriedly whispering to each other, staring at him.

“Oh!” Usagi interrupted Naru’s dreamy tirade about satin sheets and the moonlight doing crazy things to people. “Who’s that? Is he new?”

Naru glanced behind her and froze. The smile that had moments ago lightened her face remained physically, but the joy behind her eyes promptly died. She just stared at the boy, her hand shaking slightly. The boy’s eyes landed on her and he smiled so brilliantly, half the girls in class melted and sighed. He walked purposefully towards Usagi and Naru, completely ignoring the people who tried to get his attention, and promptly sat down. In Umino’s desk.

“Naru!” he said happily. “I’m so glad to see you on this bright morning. Usagi,” he looked at her and smiled wider. “It’s good to see you, too.”

“Eh?” Usagi said intelligently, staring at him. His voice was Umino’s voice, he was sitting in Umino’s desk, and he was staring at Naru with that same besotted expression he always wore around her.

“U-Umino?!” Usagi squeaked, her eyes wide as she stared at him. And pointed at him. And generally drew attention to her gaping mouth. “W-What did you do?”

“I had a little makeover,” Umino said rather casually, winking at Minako. In return, Minako beamed and waved cheerfully from her desk. “I thought I could do with a little change,” he said, puffing up a little. Normally, this would have made him look ridiculous. Without his glasses and with his new haircut, he just looked really, really yummy. Even Usagi felt a little nervous around him. “Do you like it, Naru?”

Naru remained frozen, a glimmer of her old smile still plastered on her face, as if she had forgotten to take off a mask. She was staring at him, her eyes very wide and her hands shaking. Umino’s normally unbreakable optimism tipped, his eyebrows slowly drawing together into a pinch. “N-Naru?” he tried.

Usagi looked from Naru to Umino and back, gauging her friend’s immobility and struggled for a response. “You look really good, Umino! I’m impressed… with those huge glasses, no one could see your face before.”

“Motoki and Mamoru took me to an optometrist,” he explained, his eyes fastened on Naru even as he smiled at Usagi. “I’ve got such terrible vision, my mother has been badgering me to get contacts for a while. She said it would help if my vision stabilized, so I could get corrective surgery in a few years. Then I won’t ever have to wear glasses again.”

“Why?” Naru said in a flat voice. Usagi felt the tension in the room as if an elephant had sat down on top of them. Umino, still grinning like a mad man, didn’t look so happy anymore.

“W-Why what? Why would my vision get worse? Well, Naru, see, if you wear glasses all the time and read in the dark like I do, sometimes by accident, and if you take into account the number of times my vision has gotten worse over the years-,”

“Why do you want to stop wearing your glasses?” she interrupted, the smile now gone, only to be replaced by a frown. No… not a frown. A scowl. She looked angry. Usagi shifted uncomfortably, looking from Naru’s angry face to Umino’s dwindling smile.

“I thought it’d be nice to change a little,” Umino said. He looked directly at Naru, his eyes soulful and honest. “I wanted to… look good for you.”

And that was just so Umino, Usagi felt her heart go out to him. He was so honest… so in love with Naru… and he was so transparent about it too. It was obvious to Usagi that he was telling the truth, that he had undergone this little transformation for Naru. Most of his actions revolved around pleasing her and this seemed logical, really. Except when Usagi looked at Naru’s face, it was obvious that that wasn’t enough.

“I hate it,” Naru said sharply. She turned away, as if disgusted at the sight of him.

“N-Naru,” Umino said, his eyes widening with hurt.

“Class is starting. Don’t talk to me anymore,” she said. Usagi felt a little like she was very far away, watching a horror movie play out in front of her. Had a youma usurped Naru’s body or something? Because it was just cold the way she was kicking Umino down like that.

“But Naru-,” Umino said pitiably. Naru glared at him once and then turned away again. Umino slowly sat back in his chair as the teacher called attendance, his eyes glued to the desk in front of him. He didn’t even bother to respond when the teacher called his name. Usagi quickly drew attention to him, speaking for him, but it didn’t help. Umino didn’t once look up the entire morning.

Usagi felt as if she was trapped between a blizzard and a thunderstorm. On one hand, Naru was practically radiating cold indifference, keeping her face firmly turned away from Umino the entire time that they were in class. On the other, Usagi felt the press of buzzing excitement from her classmates as they directed all their attention on Umino. How Umino looked so GOOD without his glasses, how his haircut made him look just that much more delectable, how his uniform actually fit him now instead of being a little baggy like he always wore it before. He had never cared about making a good impression on his classmates before, opting instead for comfort. Usagi watched Umino tug insistently on his collar, which was great for showing how wide his shoulders were but probably also made him uncomfortable.

The more and more she sat there, feeling Naru’s anger and Umino’s depression and the insane gossip all around her, the more Usagi got angry. How could Naru treat Umino the way she just had? Couldn’t she see how he was suffering? And why did they have to ruin her amazingly good mood after her time with Mamoru?

When class ended and everyone drifted into groups to organize their lunch buddies, Naru swiftly stood. Without a word to anyone in the classroom, she grabbed her lunch and stalked out the door as if she were alone in the room. Everyone stared after her and then whispered excitedly to each other. Umino stared after Naru with such a tortured expression on his face, Usagi immediately went to him. Minako and Makoto hurried to surround them, their expressions sympathetic.

“Don’t worry, Umino,” Usagi said as she awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. “Naru was just… surprised. You know she loves you.”

“She hates me,” Umino said in such a destroyed voice, Usagi immediately forgot her discomfort and hugged him. He didn’t react, just stared over her head at the door where he had last seen Naru’s red hair disappear. “She always told me to keep my glasses on at school… she told me, but I didn’t listen.”

“Huh?” Makoto said, blinking owlishly. The hand she had just used to scratch the back of her head paused, making her look rather comical. “Naru told you to wear glasses at school?”

“Yeah,” Umino said. The one word held so much sadness, Usagi had to hug him again. “I must look ridiculous to her… I should have known. There’s no way she’ll forgive me now for embarrassing her in front of everyone. I mean… someone as beautiful as Naru, dating someone like ME.”

“Why would she treat you like that?” Minako said, a hint of anger in her words. “Umino, stop it. You are the best looking guy here! Remember what we talked about!”

“It’s no use, Minako,” Umino said. “Thank you for trying. I appreciate it… you didn’t do anything wrong. You did everything you could to make me look more attractive. But I get it… I’m ugly. Not wearing my glasses anymore isn’t going to change that.”

“That isn’t true!” Minako said fiercely.

“Yeah! You look really handsome, Umino!” Usagi said quickly. When he wouldn’t meet her eyes, she ducked her head to look at him. “Hey, really! You do! But that isn’t the point at all. Even if you WERE ugly, it wouldn’t matter. Umino… Naru loves you just the way you are. Wearing your glasses or not has nothing to do with it!”

“It isn’t the glasses,” Umino said softly. “It’s me. I embarrass her. All the time…”

“Umino,” Makoto said sympathetically. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do!” he said. “I always do!” He broke away from Usagi’s lingering hug, Makoto’s comforting hand, and Minako’s pitying eyes. He didn’t look sad anymore, he looked angry. “I’ve always embarrassed her… embarrassed all of you! I know I’m ridiculous, okay? I know none of you wanted to be friends with me. I’m a geek! And I never cared about what other people thought of me! But Naru… she’s so…” he moved his hands helplessly. “She’s so beautiful… and so good. And wonderful. She’s supposed to date someone as beautiful and wonderful as her. And I’ve always known that that person isn’t me. I’m not good enough… and I know that. I know she was just being kind… to be with me. I know that… I just… I thought maybe… if I could only… do something to deserve her. Make other people see me in a different way, so that I wasn’t always embarrassing her…”

“Umino, stop,” Usagi said. “That isn’t true, not at all. Naru loves you. She didn’t date you because she was being kind, she genuinely wants to be with you.”

“Then why did she act like that?” Umino said angrily, shoving a finger in the direction of the door. At this point, everyone in the classroom was just staring at them. Staring at him. But he couldn’t see them. Umino had that gift – he could only see those forthright in his mind. Naru, Usagi… he saw them more clearly than most. But everyone else staring at him now served no other purpose than the desks they sat around.

Usagi bit her lip, speechless. What could she say? Naru had reacted in such a horrible, unnecessary way. And why? Despite Umino’s rage and hurt, he still looked handsome. Even more so, with his features twisted to something wholly unrecognizable. It was an unfair irony, Usagi thought, that he would see himself ugly at a time like this when all the girls in the room ogled him.

“Just accept it, Usagi,” Umino whispered. “She’s been anxious for weeks now… this was just the last straw.” He turned and walked dejectedly out of the room, leaving his lunch behind. Usagi tried to go after him but Makoto grabbed her arm.

“Let him cool off,” she murmured. “Maybe he’ll find Naru and they’ll work it all out. Don’t get involved in their problems, Usagi.”

“But they’re my friends,” Usagi said. “I hate to see them like that… especially over something so stupid. Why did Naru act like that?”

“I don’t know,” Minako said worriedly. “He talked to me before, when I was giving him his makeover. He told Mamoru and Motoki about it actually, that Naru didn’t want him to take off his glasses during school, not even by accident. He thought she was just trying to protect him because he’s so forgetful he might have dropped them. At least, that’s what he thought. I don’t think that’s the reason though.”

“You think Naru told him that on purpose, so that people wouldn’t know how good-looking he was without his glasses?” Makoto said incredulously. “Why the hell would she want to do a stupid thing like that? Her boyfriend is gorgeous! I’d want him to walk around blind if it meant people could see how good-looking Umino was, if he were my boyfriend.”

“Naru doesn’t care about looks,” Usagi said valiantly. “I’m sure there’s another reason.”

“This is where Umino sits, right?” a girl interrupted them. Usagi looked up and frowned, trying to place the name of this girl. Long, wavy black hair down to her waist, large brown eyes with just enough makeup to accentuate their softness, and a skirt slightly shorter than regulation. No name popped into her head so she just stared blankly at her.

“Yes,” Usagi said. “Why?”

“Then this must be his lunch,” the girl said, completely ignoring them now. She wrapped perfectly manicured fingers around Umino’s lunch and held it against her chest. When she ran her hands through her long black hair, Usagi remembered who she was.

“Oh… Yuuki,” she said. “What do you want with his lunch?” Right… Yuuki. She’d forgotten all about her – the pretty girl all the boys wanted. She was a bit of a spoiled brat, but she hadn’t spoken to Usagi enough for her to know the girl very well.

“I’m going to give it back to him, of course. I’m sure he’s hungry,” she said with a brilliant smile. A smile that made Makoto stiffen and Minako stare.

“I can take it for him,” Usagi offered. Yuuki hugged the lunch closer to her chest and took a visible step back.

“That’s alright,” she said softly. Usagi blinked and lowered her hands, frowning. “Do you know where he might be?”

“Usagi-,” Minako said in a warning voice.

“The computer lab, probably,” Usagi was already saying. Yuuki smiled brilliantly.

“Thanks, Usagi,” she said. She then flounced – there was no other way to describe the way she left – the room and headed off for the computer lab. Usagi tilted her head and jerked when Makoto hissed.

“That bitch…” she grumbled.

“I can’t believe her!” Minako said sharply. “Who does she think she is? They’re still dating!”

“Huh?” Usagi said. “What are you talking-,”

“Usagi, don’t be stupid,” Makoto said. Her grim expression took the bite out of her words as she stared worriedly at the door. “Yuuki’s got a reputation, you know. And she didn’t get it by sitting back when an opportunity presents itself.”

“Huh?” Usagi repeated.

“Yuuki’s going to try to put the moves on Umino,” Minako said just as grimly. “That bitch! And when he’s so upset, too!”

“What?!” Usagi gasped. “But… but she wouldn’t! What about Naru?”

“She won’t care,” Makoto said darkly. “Come on… we’d better find Umino before she does. Or Naru, if we can. It won’t be a good thing to leave those two apart while Yuuki is looking for them.”

“She’s the worst,” Minako said. “I’ve seen what she does… trying to steal boyfriends from other girls, especially if they’re good-looking. She probably never approached Umino before because he was such a geek all the time. But now… you don’t think Naru kept him hidden so that Yuuki wouldn’t know about him?”

“Don’t go running off in your imagination,” Makoto said, rolling her eyes. But she still looked worried as she stared at the door. “Let’s just find them.”

“Thank God Ami’s in the computer lab already,” Minako said. “I just hope Yuuki doesn’t find Umino somewhere on his own right now. He’s in really bad shape.”

“Have a little faith,” Makoto said. “He’s been in love with Naru for years. He isn’t the type to go after a prettier girl just because she looked at him.”

“Yeah… but he also has no idea how to handle something like that,” Minako said. “He won’t know what to do.”

“You’re all crazy,” Usagi said with a nervous laugh. “And paranoid! Nothing’s going to happen, Yuuki was just being nice! I’m sure this is all just one big misunderstanding.”


	12. Zero Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The compression of space all around Gaea felt like the weight of years. Deep in the darkest corner of the Artemis IV Compound, as it had come to be known, was a small pocket of Elysium. Sol had done it – he had never told her he could do that. To carry a little piece of his kingdom with him, like a favorite pocket watch, had been the one strand of sanity left to her. They huddled together in this small garden like fugitives, always weary, always paranoid that this was all some trick to get them out of hiding.
> 
> Sol had assured her from the beginning that this was no joke. He’d felt it, the moment Queen Serenity entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Even in their most protected sanctuary within the Elysium palace, he’d gasped and clutched his chest as if a spear had pierced him. He’d called a retinue of soldiers, their most loyal and trusted servants, to escort them above ground. Even after all the tremors of power the Earth had felt, all the dozen times she’d begged him to see the true sun again, he had refused. Until he felt her.

The compression of space all around Gaea felt like the weight of years. Deep in the darkest corner of the Artemis IV Compound, as it had come to be known, was a small pocket of Elysium. Sol had done it – he had never told her he could do that. To carry a little piece of his kingdom with him, like a favorite pocket watch, had been the one strand of sanity left to her. They huddled together in this small garden like fugitives, always weary, always paranoid that this was all some trick to get them out of hiding.

Sol had assured her from the beginning that this was no joke. He’d felt it, the moment Queen Serenity entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Even in their most protected sanctuary within the Elysium palace, he’d gasped and clutched his chest as if a spear had pierced him. He’d called a retinue of soldiers, their most loyal and trusted servants, to escort them above ground. Even after all the tremors of power the Earth had felt, all the dozen times she’d begged him to see the true sun again, he had refused. Until he felt her.

The jealousy came unbidden, despite her best efforts. She detested this strange, passionate hate her husband had for the Queen. That emotion, that spark of life she saw in her husband’s eyes, felt more powerful than anything he had shown towards her in…many years. Even if that emotion was pain, anger, rage, it was still something. Gaea knew intellectually that this pain came from losing Endymion. Such a loss was not one to forget readily.

The blow struck her fiercely, as any mother would feel the loss of her only child, but she could not possibly understand the pain that Sol had to endure. The title of king was pressing on him as well, with the weight of centuries and the power of galaxies. There was no direct heir – no one could come near the Golden Crystal, no one could wield the power that the Earth once radiated. Only the priest could even approach the crystal.

But then one day, the crystal vanished. As did the priest.

Later, much later, the priest returned but without the crystal. Gaea had protected Helios, claiming that it was his youth and inexperience that made him lose such a priceless heirloom. But Sol had been devastated, unable to express his rage and sorrow. He never could. Gaea understood.

She felt the sadness of her son’s loss, she felt the castrating immobility of her husband, and she watched her kingdom decay. Then Queen Serenity appeared as if to seal their tomb forever, an ironic reminder of all they had lost. She could still remember the conversation she’d had with her husband before they returned to the surface.

“Why now?” she whispered, poised and tense on her bed. This was the first time in ten years he had come anywhere near her bedroom, and yet he sat before her now close enough to touch. “Why is she coming here now to torment us?”

“I prayed for this,” Sol admitted. He ran his fingers through hair that had grown too long, bangs brushing his eyelashes. Gaea wanted to touch those bangs, kiss those eyelashes. She didn’t dare move. “I want it to be over.”

“It’ll never be over,” Gaea said, staring at his shoulder. His eyes held too much pain, were too blue. Endymion had looked so much like him… what would Endymion look like now, if he had lived? Would the power of the Silver Crystal still affect him, as it had affected them? Would he still be young and strong, like in her memory of him? Or would he be withered and old, decayed like a normal human? When had she stopped being a normal human?

“Maybe she’s come to invade the Earth at last,” Sol mused, ignoring her pessimism. He half-smirked at her, lounging on her bed as if he always sat like this with her. He used to. “Wouldn’t it be funny? If after all these years, she really had wanted to take over. And just waited.”

“Why would she wait until now, after so many centuries?” Gaea frowned. Sol shrugged with one shoulder, staring up at the ceiling.

“Who knows? Time doesn’t work the same way for them. Maybe this feels like next week to her… maybe in her own mind, this is a fast invasion,” he said. He sounded amused by the idea.

“Let’s hope we’re dead by the time she decides to make war,” Gaea said dryly. It was decided then, with or without Gaea’s approval, to see the surface. It had been a shock to the senses, despite all their preparations.

They had followed the technological, social, political, and mystical progress of the Earth over the past thousand years through various channels, including through agents who returned with fantastical stories.

They knew exactly what a train was when they arrived at the surface, they knew what a cell phone was, they knew what a car, a plane, a computer, and what an espresso machine was. They knew what a democracy was, they knew what a Protestant was, they knew what take-out was, they knew what a balloon was. They knew all of these things in a distant, separate sense of the words and ideas, but to stand in front of a train as it whooshed by at break-neck speed, to hear the hiss of automatic opening doors, and to watch politicians debate on televisions was very different from knowing that these things existed.

Gaea was enchanted. She begged Sol to wait a few days, to allow them some time to rediscover their world. At first he protested, saying that they had no time for leisurely activities.

But then one of the guards had given him a cell phone.

She hadn’t spoken to him for the next three days as he fiddled with it endlessly. It gave her time to take in the sights and enjoy the sun’s blistering heat on her skin.

Elysium had a sun – a warm, cozy heat that radiated from the sky and settled over their kingdom. It was forgiving and obedient, obeying the moods and commands of the king. This sun didn’t care what anyone’s mood was – it was hot, blistering, and unforgivable. She had missed it so much, she cried when she saw her first sunrise in a thousand years.

It had all happened so fast after that: entering the Artemis IV Compound (at the time, it was unnamed and disorganized), found the Queen in hibernation. Then Sol touched the crystal cocoon around her body and she’d woken up, just like that. Just as if she were waiting for that one moment, to bring the three of them back together after a thousand years.

Gaea knew that she was beautiful. In her youth, before she met Sol, she was the most sought-after princess of the Earth. With her long, chestnut-colored hair and her sparkling eyes, she could have chosen any man as her husband. But Sol stole her breath away and married her nearly on the spot. She had been so happy. They had both been so young.

When they woke the Moon Queen, she felt every single wrinkle on her face, every unflattering line of her body. Whereas she had grown older, albeit aged well, the Queen still looked as young as ever. She still looked something like eighteen – timeless and young in the same impossible moment. And while Gaea knew it was hate he felt, she could not help seeing how Sol’s face flushed and passion filled his eyes as they had not in many years. The Moon Queen had given him a purpose again, no matter how full of rage that purpose was. And Gaea was jealous it had not been she to bring back her husband’s fiery spirit.

So here they were, pretending to be civil. She felt the waves of hatred from Sol beside her, but that only made it worse. He didn’t even see Gaea anymore – only the Queen. It made her blood boil.

She felt unease settle into her bones despite the bright, warm sun at her back and the comforting weight of her teacup in both hands. Sol didn’t look at her as he sipped his tea, resolutely ignoring the third member of their little party – Queen Serenity. The conversation had taken a turn for the worse, as political talk often did, and silence had descended.

Despite their earlier, heated conversation about returning their children’s memories and calling them home, Queen Serenity had done nothing to suggest she would use whatever spell she knew. Sol suggested enlisting the help of the other planets, perhaps Mercury with their powerful identification software or Mars with their highly intuitive priests. Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto remained strangely silent during the resulting argument as Queen Serenity shot them down, stating that no one would believe their efforts were sincere. Even now, she said, the other planets had refused to make contact with “imposters.” After their verbal sparring, a tense silence had followed.

They had dropped the appropriate title, as it hampered much of their conversation, and fell back on their given names. Gaea was still surprised that the Queen had a nickname – Night. She explained that as all daughters of the Moon were named Serenity, they were given secondary names to differentiate them. Thus, her name was Queen Night Serenity, Night for short, just as her daughter had been Queen Neo Serenity, nicknamed Bunny for her hairstyle. It felt disgustingly intimate to call the Queen “Night,” as it spoke of a closeness they did not share.

Despite sensing their tension, Queen Serenity made certain not to react to their overbearing disgust. She spoke quietly when spoken to and often shared silent conversations with Sailor Pluto, in which they stared at each other. Or rather glared… there was something sinister about the way Sailor Pluto looked at the Queen. Even Sailor Saturn, the creepy little girl who wielded a weapon twice her size, was friendly in comparison.

Gaea felt Saturn’s eyes on her as the guards moved back and forth in front of them. She glanced back at the Senshi wearily, frowning.

“I’m sorry,” Saturn said, surprising her. “It’s just that you remind me of a friend.” Gaea and Sol exchanged a glance.

“I did not know Senshi could have friends,” Sol said, a malicious lilt to his words. Pluto directed a glare in his direction, her fingers tightening around her staff. The staff, in the shape of a large key, was a beautiful relic. Alone, it didn’t look dangerous at all. In her hands, it glowed with a sinister dark light.

“Funny you should say that,” the little girl said with a mysterious smile. “If you knew to which friend I referred-,”

“Hotaru,” Pluto said sharply. The girl snapped her mouth shut and lowered her gaze to the floor.

“Sorry,” she muttered. It didn’t sound sincere, despite her submissive expression.

“It is a nice name,” Queen Serenity spoke up, smiling kindly at the girl. “Which country does it hail from? I don’t believe I’ve heard its likeness…”

“Japan,” Sol said. “I believe. Isn’t that where you were born?”

“In this incarnation, yes,” Saturn who was Hotaru said. “Although… I’m not sure what incarnation I’m in anymore. I’ve died and was reborn Hotaru so many times now… it confuses me.”

“Saturn,” Pluto said sharply, using her Senshi name this time. The girl immediately straightened her spine, a closed off stoicism replacing her mysterious smile.

“Yes,” Saturn said, and the warmth was gone. It was a complete transformation from the girl she had been moments before. Gaea felt a headache coming on from their strange dual nature. They had been around the Senshi for such a long time at this point, the tension surrounding their presence had dissipated. Whereas before they were the mysterious, dangerous Outer Senshi of legend – legends even among the Senshi she knew – now, they were That Annoying Tall Woman and the Creepy Little Girl.

“Remember your mission,” Pluto said, scolding her.

“I never forget,” Saturn said, a disturbing smile on her face. It wasn’t a happy smile, nor a particularly kind one.

“What is your mission, now?” Queen Serenity asked. She glanced at Gaea and they shared a strange moment. Gaea didn’t understand the look but she glanced back at Saturn, getting the sense that the answer would terrify her.

“Protect the Prince and Princess,” Saturn said softly. Pluto grunted her assent and the two walked away, as if given some cue. Gaea slowly relaxed from her tense position, finally setting down her teacup to keep her hands from shaking.

“Why?” Sol muttered. He looked at Queen Serenity, staring into her tortured eyes. “Night… is there some other prince I don’t know about? Why would they protect my son, too? Why not just the Princess?”

“I don’t know,” Queen Serenity said. “The Senshi were never meant to protect Endymion. That was the duty of your Shitennou… but I can’t sense their presence on Earth. I don’t understand at all what happened while I slept… the universe has turned on its head and all I can do is drink tea with you…” she smiled bitterly. Sol glanced again at Gaea and shifted, leaning towards Queen Serenity.

“You swore,” he said slowly, “to do something… I’m not sure what. But you swore you would show the people of Earth why they should help us find Endymion and Serenity. What does that mean? And when are you going to do it?”

Queen Serenity hesitated before she looked down at her lap, playing with her fingers. Gaea sensed her reluctance and sat closer, putting the pressure on her from another angle. She liked watching the Moon Queen squirm.

“What I would do… is difficult,” she said at last. “Something like a spell… though more powerful. More liberating. I will unlock the memories of Earth.”

“Memories?” Sol echoed.

“That is the problem we currently face,” Queen Serenity said. “Somewhere on Earth, our children are new beings. They have no memories of the Silver Millennium, their duties, their suffering, their happiness… they don’t remember us, each other, or anything else of that time. Their memories have been locked away in a place they cannot be reached.” She took a deep breath. “My spell would grant them their memories.”

“Then what is the problem?” Sol demanded, arching an eyebrow. “Why haven’t you done it yet?”

“It’s… complicated,” Queen Serenity hedged. “First of all… I need a direct connection to the Earth, directly to the Golden Crystal.” Sol and Gaea jerked as if stung.

“There’s no way we’re allowing you anywhere near the crystal!” Gaea said. When Sol didn’t jump to her side, Gaea continued. “It is this planet’s heart – we would no sooner hand over our crystal than demand the Silver Crystal from you.” It felt enough like the truth that the insult bit harder. Sol stared at Gaea, taking in the pride of her tone and her harder breathing. He shrugged.

“It is easily done,” he murmured. “Although, you won’t be able to use the crystal directly.”

“Sol!” Gaea said, outraged. Her face darkened as she grabbed his arm. “Don’t tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Queen Serenity said, blinking.

“The crystal vanished… several years ago. There was an attack of some kind; we don’t know what happened. But the Earth righted itself… and we assume it is safe. Our priest will tell us nothing, only that it is safe,” Sol said.

“You don’t know where the Golden Crystal is?” Queen Serenity demanded incredulously.

“Do you know where the Silver Crystal is?” Sol shot back, arching a challenging eyebrow. Queen Serenity hesitated, biting her bottom lip. “Anyway, there’s no helping it. Helios won’t budge on the matter.”

“Helios?” Queen Serenity echoed.

“He is the Head Priest of Elysium,” Gaea explained grudgingly. She wouldn’t look at her husband anymore, now that he had betrayed their secret. “He has been training for some years for the position. He is young, and quite strong…” she paused, “and… he is directly linked to the Golden Crystal.”

“So you could use him,” Sol said firmly. The conversation stopped for a tense moment – Sol stared at Queen Serenity, Queen Serenity frowned at Gaea, and Gaea stared at the space between them. Finally, Queen Serenity exhaled sharply.

“But that isn’t the only reason I have hesitated,” she said.

“What is it now?” Sol exploded, his face turning redder with frustration.

“Think for a minute,” Queen Serenity said fervently. “Just think. They have entirely normal, entirely human lives. Endymion and Serenity… my Serenity… there is absolutely nothing standing between them anymore. If they, by some miracle, found each other again… if they fell in love again… I would be ripping that happiness from them!”

They stared at her as she panted with rage, angry tears sliding down her face. It was the first sign of real emotion they had ever seen in her. It was a strangely human gesture.

“That isn’t all,” she whispered. “The Golden Crystal is the only way to link with every person on the planet, to find them. I would be opening a powerful connection between the people of Earth and myself. They would all watch my memories of the Moon Kingdom. They would see what once was. They would remember things of their own – things that they do not wish to recall.”

“Like what? What could they remember that they can’t do on their own?” Gaea whispered.

“Abuse…” she said. “Torture… things that people force themselves to forget. I would not be able to control it, not if I wanted our children to remember. And they would be as they were before, separated by their duties.” She turned pleading eyes to Gaea, the tears still pooling in her eyes. “You’ve seen how Endymion looked at her… you saw how much he loved her. Would you be able to look him in the eye and tell him it was all for the best, to lose her again?”

“We have no choice,” Gaea said, shaking as she struggled to maintain control over herself.

_The dizzying scent of roses, a sharp wind. A tear-stained face she loved more than anything else. Yelling. Words that pierced her heart and made her blind with grief._

_“Why, Mama? Why can’t you just be happy for me?”_

“This isn’t what we want either,” Sol said. “But it is not just for us… Earth needs him. He is our only heir. What are we to do, should he die? There is no one else… the world would simply end.”

Gaea held her breath, daring to watch with hope weighing her heart.

Queen Serenity bowed her head, staring at her hands as if they held the answers to her million questions. Sol leaned back, his eyes hardened and his fists clenched on his thighs.

“I can’t do it,” Queen Serenity whispered. She finally looked up, her gaze catching Gaea’s eyes, without trembling. “I can’t take away my daughter’s happiness like that. I just… can’t betray her like that.”

“Even if it means the death of our kingdoms?” Sol whispered. “The Earth… and the Moon. You would allow their crystals to be silenced?”

“If it means their happiness, yes,” she said. She sat up straighter and despite the tears, her face smoothed over like a serene lake. She was at peace with this decision.

“Then you have doomed us all,” Sol said. He seemed a little stunned.

“Bless you… Night,” Gaea whispered. The two women understood each other now, even if Sol did not. They smiled bitterly at each other – enemies, but friends too.

Sol recoiled as if stabbed, his eyes widening. He started breathing hard, his fingers fisting against the table as he looked between them. Gaea tried to impart some of her gratitude to her husband, watching him panic. She had been a princess of Earth, one of many women vying for a place beside the future king. She loved Earth with all of her heart… but she loved Endymion with her soul. She would pick him over anything else, always. Sol, on the other hand… he was a direct descendent of his bloodline, a wielder of the Golden Crystal. He was directly linked to the heart of the Earth. He was the heart of the Earth. The betrayal that felt too easy for Gaea was tearing him up inside.

“This is insanity,” Sol said, glaring between his wife and Queen Serenity. He quickly stood, jerking his sword out of its sheath and pointing it at the Moon Queen. “You have poisoned my wife with your insanity.”

“What are you doing?” Gaea whispered, staring up at him. Her fingers reached for him instinctively, desperate to soothe away that tearing within him.

“You’ve lost your mind,” he said, his voice rising in pitch and volume. Guards, idling by the doors, came running. Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto hurried too, their eyes wide. “Don’t you understand what you’re doing? How many people you’ll kill?”

“I don’t care who dies, if Endymion is only happy,” Gaea whispered. It was too low for anyone, even Queen Serenity beside her, to hear. Sol got the point though as he stared at her.

“You would doom my planet, witch,” he hissed. He crouched into a fighting stance with legs spread apart and arms stiff. She had seen him train in that position before, seen him cut down enemies like that. She had fallen in love with him with that focused look on his face. And although she knew that she should run from him, she couldn’t make her body move. What was he doing? They had not been on friendly terms for a long time… but would he…? Would he really…?

“Huh…” a voice overhead said. “This is kind of interesting.” When they looked up at the sky – who could have snuck into this protected space undetected? – the Senshi immediately rushed forward.

A young boy sat in the air cross-legged with his chin resting on his hands. He wore the guise of a clown with a white painted face, a single blue tear mark under one eye, and brightly colored balloon pants and white shirt with sleeves that covered his whole hands. “What are you all ignoring him for? He was totally about to cut her head off!” He addressed Gaea with, “I don’t know what you did because it is seriously hard to get the king all mad and stuff, but it must have been bad. Are you his mistress or something?”

“Youma!” Pluto yelled sharply, which got the guards into even more of a panic. The child youma tilted his head curiously as the assembled people turned their full attention on him.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” the boy said with a giggle. “Lots of people are coming – I just found the exit first. Hey, what Senshi are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

“Get them out of here,” Pluto said to Saturn without taking her eyes off the enemy. Saturn nodded and, keeping her scythe held in the direction of the youma, edged towards the Earth monarchs. She grabbed Gaea firmly around her upper arm and edged towards the only door.

“Don’t move,” a voice said from the door. When they whirled in the direction of the voice, a strange man reclined against the shadow of a tree. As he moved into the light, they saw that his skin was blue, his eyes a disturbing red color, and he held a sword in one hand. His clothing was complex with many tubes and metal strips across his arms and legs. When he spoke, his fangs glinted “Jukai, why’d you have to warn them? They didn’t even know we were here.”

“I just wanted to know what Senshi they were,” Jukai, the clown youma, said with a pout. “We’ve met a lot of them but never these two. You don’t think they’ve got crystals, do you?”

The guards split into two formations and shielded Gaea and Sol on all sides. Pluto lingered beside Queen Serenity while Saturn’s grip on Gaea’s arm tightened until it was painful. Gaea barely breathed, staring from one terrifying youma to the other. How had they gotten in?

“Heeeeey, Chixota, you don’t think that’s really the king’s mistress, do you?” Jukai asked in that same whiney voice.

“Why not?” he said, his eyes narrowed on Saturn. With a growing sense of dread, Saturn realized that by singling out Gaea she had made her a bigger target. She should never have touched the queen. She released the queen and grabbed her scythe with both hands, mentally trying to make Gaea invisible. “Marriages aren’t perfect, and they’ve been married for a thousand years, haven’t they? Makes sense they’d get sick of each other at some point.”

“But its such a nice love story,” Jukai said, untangling his limbs as he floated upside down above Sol and Queen Serenity. “I thought for sure it would work out. And don’t they have a daughter? Don’t you think she’d be upset with them for being all unfaithful to each other?”

“These things are not for us to question,” Chixota said. He lashed out with his sword, sending a ball of energy at Gaea. Saturn reacted without thinking, slamming herself against that energy to ricochet off the wall. The loud, clear vibrating of the scythe’s blade filled the air as she stood poised, ready for another attack. The youma, Chixota, smirked at her. Fangs glinted at the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, the others are coming,” Jukai said excitedly. “This is going to be fun!”

The ground shook and the sky overhead turned pitch black. Gaea wrapped her arms around her body and hunched inward, pulled back into a memory of another attack. The sky was so dark; lightening danced across the clouds. Oh god, it was happening again.

The sky opened, jagged and twisted, light exploding from overhead. A body fell through the sky and landed between Gaea and Sol, a sword glittering in its hand. And then another dropped. And another.

Monsters descended upon them.

...

Swinging her school bag in time with her feet, Usagi stared listlessly into the sky. It was supposed to be sunny all day but a light shower sprinkled her hair and arms with just enough moisture to be noticeable but not enough to get past her clothing. It was a soothing rain, one that allowed Usagi to disappear into her thoughts.

She was off to the arcade with its promise of home economics cookies from Makoto’s club and shameless gossip over who was crushing on whom. It was enough to make her pick up the pace. For some reason, though, she wanted to linger in the rain. Something felt strange, some quality in the air that made her pause. It felt a little like lightening in the air, like when Sailor Jupiter hurled a thunderbolt at an enemy. But she had heard no thunder, seen no lightening – only the sky gently spraying her with water and mist.

It was a little hard to see anything, despite how light the rain was. The soft whoosh of cars was the only indication that she walked beside a busy avenue and even the windows of the stores she passed were covered in a thick coat of mist. She paused in front of the glass long enough to draw a small heart with her finger, smile, and continue walking.

As she passed her little doodle in the window, the door of the store opened behind her. Two familiar voices picked up and Usagi turned to greet them.

“-so mean, I can’t believe you didn’t tell anyone how hot Umino was under all that geeky exterior!” Keiko’s high-pitched giggle filled the air. Usagi froze and hung back, no longer eager to greet them. The girls stood in front of the door, working on their umbrellas as they spoke.

“It’s not a big deal,” Naru muttered. Her uniform was slightly crumpled around the hem, a sure sign that she’d been tugging at it during class. That could only mean she was anxious about something. Could it be Umino? Was Naru’s recent anxiety about Umino? Usagi pressed herself against the wall, listening intently.

“Yeah, it is!” Keiko gushed. “I mean, we all thought you were crazy for dating him. He is – was such a geek! But now… I mean, everyone totally understands.” Naru didn’t look at their classmate as she wrenched her umbrella open and walked boldly out into the rain. Keiko followed, still chattering. “And to think he was like that all along and no one ever noticed. You’re so lucky you snatched him up already; I heard that Yuuki has had her eye on him ever since the first day he revealed himself! Oh, I’m so jealous!”

“You can have him,” Naru said in an icy voice.

“N-Naru?” Keiko laughed nervously, “you don’t have to joke about that.”

“I’m not joking. You or Yuuki, it doesn’t matter. He isn’t my problem anymore,” Naru said, walking on ahead. 

“W-What?” Keiko said, frozen halfway between the entrance of the shop and the open rain, darting her gaze from her umbrella to Naru, and then quickly to her shoes. The rain had picked up somewhat during their conversation.

“I said you can have him. Umino and I broke up. There’s nothing standing between you now,” Naru said, her voice colder and darker the more she stood there.

“But…” Keiko said uncertainly. “Naru, Umino is your boyfriend. You’ve been dating since middle school. And everyone knows how much he’s in love with you. It’s kind of… disgusting… how much he’s in love with you.” Her voice trailed off at the cold scowl on Naru’s face. She stared down at her umbrella, her shoulders shaking. “But he’s so handsome now… I don’t understand why you’d break up with him, Naru…”

“Don’t try to rationalize things you don’t understand,” Naru said, her voice betraying her anger. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t know me at all, not at all. You have no idea what I’m going through or why I do what I do.”

Keiko didn’t respond; she barely breathed as she stood there taking Naru’s wrath.

“You think you’re so smart, telling me how great it is that my boyfriend’s so good-looking? You think it’s okay now, that I was dating Umino before only because he was secretly handsome? Well, what if he looked even uglier without his glasses? What if he was the ugliest person in the world – then what? Is it not okay for him to be my boyfriend anymore? Are you saying that you, in all your wisdom, would advise me not to date him because he isn’t good enough?”

“N-No,” she mumbled weakly.

“Oh… because I could have sworn that’s what you were saying. That’s what everyone has been saying. All of this talk about how its suddenly okay that I dated Umino all of these years because he’s handsome underneath his geeky exterior. I made a wise choice, keeping him hidden away from everyone, because I kept the competition out. Yes, that’s what you’re all saying. That if I hadn’t done that, some other girl would have just snatched him away from me. That I’m the one that was lucky to be dating him. That I’m not any good except that I’m dating someone so much more beautiful than me!”

Naru threw down her umbrella so sharply, Keiko jumped and dared to lift her eyes. She immediately lowered them again, biting her lip to keep from crying. Naru’s face contorted to one of disgust and intense rage, dropping the coldness she had worn like a coat until there was nothing but vibrating tension left in her body.

“So don’t pretend you have any idea what you’re talking about! If I’ve broken up with Umino, I have a good reason for it!” Naru shouted. People were staring now, hesitating on the sidewalk so that they wouldn’t have to walk past her. They had drawn a small crowd of whispering shoppers, all curious about Naru’s anger.

When Usagi saw tears slide down Naru’s cheeks, she couldn’t take it anymore. She inhaled sharply and stepped out from her hiding spot.

“Naru,” Usagi said, her mouth twisted into a grimace. “Why are you doing this?”

Catching sight of Usagi, Naru froze with her mouth hanging open. Her red face paled so that she looked sickly. Her face, Usagi noted, was sallow and pinched with tension. Why hadn’t she known that her friend had all this anger bottled up inside her? Why hadn’t she seen that her best friend in the world was in so much pain that she couldn’t talk to anyone? Why had she always assumed that Naru and Umino would stay together forever, because they loved each other?

“Usagi…” Naru whispered, swallowing convulsively. “What are you… why are you here?”

“I know you, Naru,” Usagi said, ignoring the question. She took a step towards her and held out her hand as if she were approaching a wild animal. Naru had begun to tremble, tears sliding along her jaw. “And I know how you really feel about Umino. I know you love him no matter what he looks like. Why are you hurting yourself like this, Naru?”

“S-Shut up,” Naru whispered, clenching her fists at her sides. “You have no idea… you haven’t even been paying attention…”

“Stop making excuses,” Usagi said, frowning. “I’ve been your friend our whole lives. I know you better than anyone – better than Umino.”

“You haven’t been my friend for a long time,” Naru said in that same cold voice she had been using for days. “You never have time for me… you don’t care what happens to me.”

“You know that isn’t true,” Usagi whispered, fighting back the hurt tears that threatened to overflow. She suddenly hated how emotional she was, how every little thing could make her cry.

But this wasn’t about her – this was about Naru, and her pain. She had to be strong. She swallowed back her tears and took another step forward. “You know I’ll always love you, Naru.”

“You’re so full of yourself,” Naru said, taking a step away from her. “All you care about is… is your other friends and… and Mamoru. You don’t have time for me anymore. You haven’t for years.”

“No,” Usagi chided, still stepping cautiously towards her. She spared a glance for Keiko, who was plastered against the wall with her umbrella clutched tightly to her chest, breathing slowly in and out. She looked relieved to no longer be in Naru’s immediate attention. Usagi’s eyes swiveled back to her trembling friend. “That isn’t true and you know it. And besides, that isn’t what this is about. This is about you and Umino.”

“You never liked Umino,” Naru growled, anger showing through her coldness again.

“I’ve always liked Umino,” Usagi corrected gently. “I see how much he loves you. He tries so hard to make you happy. He did all of this for you, to impress you.”

“I KNOW!” Naru yelled, stomping up to Usagi’s face and jabbing a finger into her shoulder. Startled by the sudden aggression, Usagi backtracked with Naru following, jabbing her in the shoulder continuously. “I know, okay? I know he did all of that stupid stuff just to make me happy! He never thinks about himself, he never considers things before he does them, and he only ever thinks about me! I know all of that! And I know that the second Yuuki finds him and bats her big lashes at him and flips her beautiful hair his way, he’s going to fall madly in love with her and forget all about me! You know why? Because I’m a horrible person who couldn’t stand the idea of some other girl making a move on my boyfriend!”

This last part galvanized Usagi and she shoved Naru away, startling her. “Then you’re a coward! And you don’t trust Umino at all if you think he would leave you for the first pretty girl that pays attention to him. Umino is faithful through and through!”

“It isn’t that easy,” Naru yelled, fisting her hands. “You only think he’s faithful because Mamoru is faithful to you!”

“This has nothing to do with Mamo-chan!” Usagi yelled, her shoulders shaking. “This is about you and Umino!”

“No, it has everything to do with you and Mamoru,” Naru yelled back. “Everything is so perfect between the two of you! He’s so handsome and all he ever thinks about is you! He doesn’t even see it when girls hit on him! But not everyone has it so easy, Usagi!”

“Easy?” Usagi spluttered. “You think my relationship with Mamo-chan is easy?”

“Your mom loves him,” Naru said, her eyebrows pinching. “Your brother hero-worships him. Your friends get along with him. He loves you, takes you out, understands you in so many ways. Even your dad won’t have much of an excuse to keep you from openly dating him since he’s been around so long. Everything is just so… perfect for you! Nothing ever tries to keep you apart!”

The words felt like arrows penetrating Usagi’s soul and for a split second, she heard a voice echoing in a distant memory. The Earth hung in the sky like a pale peach… the cold wind of the Moon blew against her neck… Luna sat beside her on a ledge overlooking an enormous garden.

“You are never to see that boy again. Never.”

“It isn’t easy,” Usagi whispered, horrified by the pain of that memory more than anything. Naru snorted derisively.

“You don’t even know what it means to have a relationship you need to work at,” she said snidely. “You don’t know what it’s like when it feels like the whole world is pitted against you and Mamo-chan being together. So don’t even try to argue.”

Naru turned on her heel and ran down the street, her shoes clacking on the wet sidewalk. Usagi stared after her, ignoring the disapproving buzz of voices all around. The small crowd that had gathered to witness their humiliating fight had an opinion about the argument. Some offered consoling words to Usagi as they passed while others hurried along with their heads down. Show’s over, Usagi thought insanely, staring after Naru without acknowledging those idiots brave enough to speak to her.

Keiko, up until this point forgotten, crept towards Usagi. “I don’t get it,” she mumbled. Usagi’s eyes swiveled to her. This seemed to fortify Keiko’s courage as she puffed out her chest and shook her umbrella. “Naru’s being such an idiot. I don’t know what she’s complaining about. Who cares if Umino is good-looking now or what? Not like she’s going to get another boyfriend, not by the way she’s been acting lately. Right, Usagi?”

Usagi felt the blood freeze in her veins. Was this the kind of person that Naru hung out with when Usagi wasn’t there? Was it true… did she not spend as much time with her friend as she should have?

All the hurt of Naru’s biting words evaporated, eclipsed by the knowledge that Naru had said all of those things because she was in pain. Usagi ran after her, knocking down a couple that didn’t get out of the way fast enough. She didn’t stop to apologize or help them up, as she normally would have, because she’d just caught sight of Naru’s curly red hair just ahead. Her friend had slowed down and walked confidently away, hair swishing against her neck as she went.

Usagi picked up speed and dashed towards Naru even as Keiko yelled after her. Naru heard Keiko and glanced back, only to find Usagi chasing her. With a startled cry, Naru ran fast, leading Usagi down alleys and streets that passed too quickly to recognize their names.

“Stop following me, Usagi!” Naru yelled, ducking under a surprised delivery boy. Usagi yelped and crashed into the box at his feet, landing flat on her face. With a determined grunt, she shoved herself off the concrete and ran after Naru again, ignoring the indignant yell from behind her.

“No! Stop running, Naru! I won’t let you get away with all that stuff you said back there! We’re going to talk until we figure this out!” Usagi said, barely panting as she managed to dodge some kids loitering in front of an apartment building. Some of the kids wore baggy pants with torn T-shirts; one had long hair streaked with purple and the other had piercings all over his face. Part of Usagi wondered where she was, what part of the city had punks like them hanging around outside.

“Just give it up!” Naru panted, sounding far more winded than Usagi felt. Thank god for Senshi training, she thought as she started catching up. “It’s hopeless! Just leave me alone!”

“I won’t leave you alone! You’re my best friend!” Usagi yelled, putting on a burst of speed. She nearly caught Naru but her friend dodged and ran down a small alley squished between a ramen store and a laundromat. Usagi tripped on her own feet and nearly twisted her ankle on the way down. Grunting at the added pain on her bleeding knees, she wobbled to her feet and ran after Naru.

She was so focused that she didn’t sense the aura of danger surrounding her all at once.

All she saw was that Naru had climbed over a chain link fence into the construction area beyond. That she was so desperate to get away made Usagi run faster, ignoring the bite of the metal as she climbed over the obstacle faster than Naru. The added speed gave her the precious few seconds she needed to trap Naru against one of the bulldozers.

They stood there for a moment, Naru with her back pressed up against the machinery and Usagi leaning on her hands, trapping Naru between them as they fought for air. When Usagi lifted her head to look Naru in the eye, she stopped breathing. Naru’s face was no longer angry but red and tear-stained. She sobbed and covered her face with both hands, gasping for air as she cried.

Usagi breathed deeply, watching Naru cry with tears in her own eyes. She wrapped her arms around Naru and hugged her, letting her best friend cry for the both of them as she murmured soothing words into her ear. Naru gasped and choked on her sobs, clutching at Usagi as she cried.

“I-I couldn’t… stand it… anymore,” Naru whispered. “The way everyone looked at him, like he was a piece of meat. I couldn’t stand the way they looked at him like he wasn’t even human anymore.”

“Why did you break up with him?” Usagi whispered. “It must have hurt him so much.”

“Don’t,” Naru whispered, her body stiffening. “Please don’t say that! I can’t bear the thought… of him hurting… because of something I did. I’m such a horrible girlfriend.”

“But then why?” Usagi said. “Why would you hurt him like that?”

“Because! I was holding him back. Don’t you see? I was so selfish, trying to hide him from everyone. I got so crazy, worrying that he’d slip and take off his glasses during class to clean them. Or he’d spill something and have to take them off. Or… Usagi, I was even worried that you’d want him!” She lifted her head, her face twisted in pain. “And I know you have eyes only for Mamo-chan! But I still thought it! I still worried!”

“Umino has never seen anyone but you in front of him,” Usagi said.

“No, that isn’t true,” Naru whispered, lowering her head to hide her face. “He liked you first… don’t you remember? How he chased you?”

“He had a minor crush on me,” Usagi said, fighting a small blush. “And anyway, it didn’t even last more than a little while! He never seriously asked me out, like he did with you. And he’s never once looked at me the way he looks at you.”

“That may be true… but… it isn’t enough,” she stepped away from Usagi, ducking her head lower to hide her shame. “I’m a coward. I’ve heard the rumors. About… Yuuki. I’ve heard what she does to other girls in order to get their boyfriends. All she had to do was scare me once and I gave him up rather than go through the torture she wanted to put me through.”

“Scare you? What did she do?” Usagi said, eyes widening. Even after the nasty rumors she’d heard about Yuuki, she had a lot of trouble imagining that lovely girl harming anyone.

“S-She caught me… after gym. Spoke with me in private when everyone left. She said some… things… that were true. About me. And… she threatened to make my life really difficult. But worst of all, she threatened to tell Umino.”

“Tell Umino what?” Usagi said, frowning. Naru nodded and looked up imploringly.

“I’m not strong like you, Usagi. I have friends at school… but not like you do. I can’t surround myself in a cocoon of people the way you can, people who support and love you no matter what. If I’m around you and your friends, I’m okay… but the second I step away from you, it’s like your light leaves me. I can’t see things the way you do; I can’t see the good in people as easily. And I didn’t see how cruel Yuuki was until it was too late.”

“Too late?” Usagi repeated, fighting to keep up with Naru’s words.

“I…” Naru hesitated. “I went to a… party… a few months ago. I shouldn’t have gone; I didn’t know many people there and I wasn’t even invited. But it was one of Yuuki’s parties and those are pretty famous for having all the popular people at school. I told Umino I couldn’t see him, that I had a stomach ache and that I was going to sleep early that day, and I went with Keiko to the party.”

“Mmm,” Usagi said encouragingly. She had no idea where this story of Naru’s was supposed to go, nor why she was telling it, but Naru’s face was constricted with guilt and pain. She wanted to confess something. If that meant that Usagi was confused while Naru explained, then that was okay.

“I don’t know why I went,” Naru whispered. “You had free time… you’d finally invited me to go out and have fun. I missed you so much. But I said no… said I was busy. And I went to the party instead.” She leaned her head back and stared at the sky, arms wrapped around her shoulders. “I dressed in clothing I would never wear… slutty things. Things I thought made me look attractive. Yuuki was so nice to me at the party, laughing and talking with me as if we were friends for a long time instead of cold acquaintances at school. And when her older brother came over, I just thought he was being friendly.”

Usagi stopped breathing, her eyes widening as she extended her hands to Naru.

“Don’t worry,” Naru said, sensing her alarm. “Nothing happened. I mean… nothing like what you’re thinking. He was a little drunk and he just… hugged me is all. And kissed me on the cheek and said I was good for his sister, that I made her less crazy. I laughed… I thought he was joking. I’d heard about Yuuki but I remembered what you said – that everyone should have a chance to explain themselves. I mean, just look at Mako-chan… she had a reputation for being violent and starting fights at her old school, but she has never once been anything but sweet to me. I just thought other girls were jealous because Yuuki is so beautiful… I thought they were jealous that their boyfriends were unfaithful and chased her because of that.”

She stopped and lowered her chin, breathing deeply. Usagi gently rubbed her shoulder, listening.

“Yuuki took a picture of us. She said that we looked so cute together… she said she had never seen a girl who looked good next to her brother. She said that… that she really thought we’d make a cute couple. And he was really nice… he said he would love to go out with me. And I just laughed and said I’d be flattered. I said that I didn’t have time for a boyfriend – that I study too much. I didn’t once say that I had a boyfriend. I didn’t once think of Umino. Oh god, I’m such a horrible person.”

“No, Naru-,” Usagi said.

“After that,” Naru interrupted quickly, her words coming faster. “After that, I treated Yuuki as a friend. We never associated at school together – her friends were a lot more popular than me – but we’d hang out at her house sometimes. And her brother was always so nice to me… and I… I never told him I had a boyfriend. But Yuuki knew. And she… when she grabbed me after gym she… she had a picture…”

“But you said nothing happened!” Usagi blurted.

“Nothing happened,” Naru repeated, flushing. “But it looks like something happened… in the picture. If you look at it, it’s like we’re dating. He has his arm around me and I’m hugging him and… and… And she threatened to take it to Umino and make him think I cheated on him. I… I’m a coward. I just couldn’t bear it! I wanted him to think it was… a-anything else but that! He could… he could forgive me one day, if it was anything but that!”

“Umino would never believe anything Yuuki told him about you,” Usagi said firmly, struggling to keep her own feelings on the subject under wraps. She wanted to shake Naru for being stupid – hugging another guy who wasn’t her boyfriend – but Naru was still trembling. “Naru, he’d forgive you! You said it yourself – nothing happened. Umino is one of the most forgiving, kindest-,”

“I know!” Naru yelled. “That’s the whole point! He’d forgive me and smile and smile, but it would tear him up inside to think that I might have been with another guy. It would hurt him so much if he thought that he wasn’t good enough.”

“And this is better? Making him think that the very sight of him repulses you? The difference here is that you’re not even trying! Either you break his heart by making him think he’s a disgusting bug and dump him, or you admit you made a mistake and work through your problems like any other couple! But what you’re doing to him now… You’re just… giving up on him!”

“Don’t make me sound so cruel,” Naru said. “I know how horrible I am! But I just… I’m so confused. It seemed like the best option. And Yuuki… she threatened to spread it around the school – she said her brother had a reputation for being a playboy. That it would just make things look like we’d slept together.”

“Umino would never believe that!” Usagi said.

“But my friends would! Everyone at school would! I told you, Usagi, I told you I’m not as strong as you! It would be okay if I was with you all the time but I can’t be! They’d get me alone – they’d tear me up inside. I can’t do it. I just… I can’t…” She broke off, her entire body shaking as she hugged herself. “I’m so ashamed. I’m not strong enough.”

“You have to try,” Usagi whispered. “Love is always worth it. You have to try… for Umino. If you don’t, you’ll only hurt him worse than ever. It must be torture for him to see you in pain like this.”

“Please don’t say that,” Naru whimpered.

“Jeez…” Usagi whispered, taking a step back. The tension between them dissipated slightly, the air feeling cleaner and fresher now that the ugliness between them was visible. Naru took that break from Usagi’s piercing gaze to catch her breath, rubbing her face clean of her tears. Usagi paced a little in front of her with a hand to her forehead, going through everything Naru had just told her.

Usagi stared at the sky, breathing in deeply a few times. When she knew what she wanted to say, she turned back to Naru.

“Do you love Umino?” she asked simply. Her face was honest and open – free of reproach or disapproval. It was just a question.

“Yes,” Naru whispered. “I love him very much.”

“Then that’s all that matters,” Usagi said.

Naru looked into her eyes – those blue eyes that saw right through all of her defenses and half-hearted excuses – and felt the truth of those words. Her mother had said that too, that love was all that mattered. But Naru saw the lack of passion in her parents’ marriage, saw the way that couples got together and broke up in the same breath. She listened to Yuuki’s poisonous words and felt that love wasn’t enough, not nearly enough, would never be enough. But Usagi’s eyes were sincere, her smile was confident, and she spoke those words as if there were no truer words ever spoken.

“Y-You don’t understand,” Naru tried weakly. It was her last defense. “High school is so hard… I don’t know if I can be strong.”

“There is far more to life than high school,” Usagi said, taking her hand. “Love is more important than anything else in this world. If you love him and want more than anything to be with him, then you can’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. You can’t live your life regretting something so small. You and Umino will work this out together. You have to be honest with each other and you have to be strong. There is no other option if you want to be happy.”

“Usagi…” she whispered, mesmerized. “It’s so easy, when you say it.”

“If that’s true, then I’ll come with you,” Usagi said, grinning confidently. It was a sad smile, something Naru had not seen in a long time. But it was strong and filled Naru with that strength. With Usagi’s strength. “We’ll go talk to Umino right now, see? And you’ll sort everything out. And if Yuuki gives you any trouble, you ignore her. She isn’t worth your time.”

And it was true. As Usagi said these things, confidently, rationally, Naru saw the truth in them. The ugliness that had coiled in the pit of her stomach loosened and her shoulders relaxed. Tension she had been experiencing for days ebbed away to leave her feeling hollow and light. She felt as if she could float away.

“I…” Naru said. She shook herself, blinking as if she had just woken from a dream. Or a nightmare. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Right!” Usagi said more enthusiastically. “We’ll win him back for you! And it won’t matter what Yuuki says because Umino will know the truth.”

“Yeah,” Naru said, smiling despite herself. They trudged back to the chain link fence and helped each other over.

“I can’t believe I was so stupid,” Naru mumbled, tugging her frizzy hair out of her face. She must have looked like a disaster.

“We all make mistakes,” Usagi said gently. “Don’t worry… it’s never too late to fix things.”

“But I… I must look horrible. Maybe we shouldn’t go now. Maybe I should just stop by my house and clean up…”

“No way!” Usagi said firmly. “We’re going straight to Umino’s house. Right now. And you aren’t leaving until you’ve talked to him.”

“But I look terrible,” Naru groaned. “My face is all swelled up from crying, my eyes must be all red, too. I’m dirty and wet from trying to get away from you-,”

“It doesn’t matter,” Usagi said. “He should know what you’ve been through to come to this decision. He should know how difficult it was for you. He’ll understand when you talk to him.”

“Mmm,” Naru mumbled, trying unsuccessfully to scrap mud off the back of her shoes. She glanced at Usagi and wearily sighed.

Usagi looked ethereal after all their physical exertion. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were electric blue. Her hair, although mused and obviously disorganized, only made her look more beautiful. Even her clothes, damp with rain and sweat, only accentuated her beauty. Worst of all, she was completely unaware of how beautiful she was. Naru wanted to feel jealous – but then she gave up. She’d tried being jealous of Usagi once, when they were in grade school, but it was simply impossible. Usagi was too good to be mad at.

“I’m sorry… about the stuff I said. About you and Mamoru,” Naru said meekly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Usagi said and smiled. Except the smile wasn’t Usagi’s easy smile but rather a forced, fake one. Huh, Naru thought. What was it about what I said before that’s making Usagi act like this?

As they walked down the deserted alley, avoiding huge puddles of water, Usagi stiffened.

“Hey… do you feel that?” she whispered. Naru looked around. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual out of place. She gasped and jumped when Usagi grabbed her hand.

“What? What is it?” Naru said, gripping Usagi’s hand in return. She hadn’t felt anything unusual but Usagi’s sudden tension made her alert. The alley didn’t look different – a couple trash bins beside an open door and a shaggy cat pawing at some cardboard boxes were the only scenery.

“… must be… -ouma…” Usagi mumbled to herself.

“Huh? What’d you say?” Naru said.

The wall to their left exploded.

...

Usagi somehow sensed the explosion before it happened.

She covered Naru’s body with hers and took the brunt of the blast on her back. Naru lay back against the opposite wall with her eyes wide open. She felt something sticky dribble onto her knee but Usagi was strewn on top of her lap so she couldn’t see what it was. Usagi struggled to her knees and collapsed against her again.

“Usagi,” Naru mumbled, stunned by the suddenness of it. She stared at the shattered wall, at the twisted pipes sticking out of the brick. She could smell soy sauce and fried rice drifting from inside the crippled building. Distantly, screams started up.

“Naru, are you okay?” Usagi said, struggling to stand again. She managed it with difficulty, leaning against the wall for support. Her back was lacerated and red with blood but the wounds appeared to be shallow. Naru touched her own eyebrow and it came away sticky, red with blood. The dribbled liquid on her lap was also the red of fresh blood. She wasn’t sure who’s blood it was.

...

“Naru, can you hear me?” someone shook her shoulder. Naru looked up into Usagi’s determined, charcoal-colored face. Had she lost consciousness? Usagi hadn’t been covered in ash a moment ago. “Naru, you have to get up. We have to run. Naru, listen to me. We can’t stay here.”

She looked up at the blackened sky and noticed that the cloud over her head spiked lightening from every point. Then she realized that there were things in the cloud, things that moved. She glanced from side to side, barely taking in the crumbling brick walls and twisted metal frame of the building structures.

“Naru!” Usagi said urgently, shaking her again.

“Ughn…” Naru said, acknowledging her. The last few moments returned like a steamroller. There had been another explosion and this time Usagi hadn’t been fast enough. Naru had bumped her head and her vision had gone fuzzy. But she was okay now – she could understand Usagi’s words.

“Usagi,” Naru said, gripping Usagi’s wrists. “O-Okay…”

“Okay?” Usagi said, staring into her eyes.

“Yes, okay.”

“Good.” Usagi grabbed her arm and ran.

The street they had run through minutes ago was strewn with debris and bodies. When Naru tried to stop and look at the twisted corpses on the ground, Usagi nearly dislocated her shoulder by yanking her forward. The numbness was fading and something else bubbled up inside Naru. She tripped at one point and grunted. The grunt turned into rapid, shaking breathing. It almost became screaming.

Usagi had grabbed her again and yanked her hard. She didn’t let Naru absorb what she was looking at.

They kept running without stopping, their eyes fixed on some imaginary destination that only Usagi seemed capable of seeing. Her face held a firm determination, her goal clear in her eyes.

Naru was too confused and too terrified to ask her where they were going.

...

A scream tore through the air and abruptly cut off. Gaea hid her face in her knees, huddled in a corner under an overturned table. Pieces of porcelain strewn around the floor picked up the red emergency lights and reflected them back at her, like stars winking from the dark ground. She lifted her head and hugged her arms tightly. She pressed her thighs to her arms and chest as she fought to stop shaking.

The compound was under attack from within. No one could explain how the monsters had gotten in, nor how there could be so many of them. The attack had been sudden, without warning, and solely concentrated against Queen Serenity and Sol. Even the Senshi had seemed overwhelmed by the youma attack.

“We sensed something coming, but nothing of this magnitude,” Pluto had said. Saturn did not once speak as they had escaped the garden room. All she’d said was, “Hide,” and gone off to fight a group of youma clustered around some of the astrophysicists. Before Gaea had a chance to do just that, she herself was attacked.

She ran and hid far away from the screams and explosions. The desk overhead cast a long shadow over her, effectively hiding her from the couple of youmas that had whizzed shrieking by overhead. She ducked her head, breathing sharply through her nose.

“Get up,” she whispered to her knees. It took a moment but she managed it, carefully avoiding the pieces of broken porcelain on the ground.

Her dress hung in tatters around her legs and the heel of one shoe had broken off. She assessed this damage distantly as her eyes wandered around her. There was no more screaming, only an eerie silence that seemed to go on forever. Where was Sol? Where were the guards? Where was everybody? Could it be… was she the only one left?

She crab-walked around several cubicles lined with torn literary articles and shattered pens. She used a trash bin filled with used food wrappers as a weapon held out in front of her. Whenever she caught a hint of movement, she ducked for cover again and waited until her heart stopped racing.

It was during one of those adrenaline-fueled evasions that she heard actual conversation. She peeked out from her hiding spot behind an upturned glass table and saw a strange girl arguing with one of the demon creatures. Her long pink hair tied back in a braid looked highly suspicious but otherwise she looked like a normal human girl. There was no mistaking the creature sneering at her – exposing a fang at one corner of his mouth – and his aura of darkness.

As if sensing her, the creature lifted his eyes and stared directly at her. Gaea did the only thing she could, under the circumstances. She screamed.

“No no! It’s okay!” the girl said, rushing to her side. Gaea threw her arm up to protect herself but the girl backed up before touching her, holding her hands palm-out in a gesture of peace. “We won’t hurt you. I’m sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Gaea trembled, panting hard and staring up at the creature. He didn’t look quite so sympathetic as the girl.

“Why are you talking to that… that…” Gaea said, her voice hoarse. It surprised her so much that she lowered her arm to touch her throat.

“I prefer monster,” the man said, smirking to show all of his very sharp, very white teeth. The smirk vanished with a disgruntled “oomph” as the girl elbowed him in the sternum.

“You are not going to scare the first person we see!” the girl said in such a disgusted, snotty voice that Gaea blinked. That was around the time that she realized two things: one, the girl was totally human. And two, she had somehow wrapped a powerful, brutal youma around her little finger. This was also around the time she stopped cowering and felt a little bit foolish for her behavior. After all, the youma had not attacked her. Yet. That in itself was a first in her life.

“Whatever,” the youma muttered, averting his gaze as if Gaea no longer existed. Gaea observed the way his glance flicked briefly to the strange girl and then again in the opposite direction. “I’ll make sure none of my friends are still hanging around.”

“You go do that,” the pink-haired girl said coldly. The youma snorted and took off, easily leaping over the disaster zone around them. He probably flew – not that Gaea would have known the difference. She could barely stand, let alone wax philosophic on whether or not youma jumped long distances or simply flew. Or maybe they hovered?

“I’m sorry about him,” the girl said with a comforting smile. She held out her hand and as Gaea reached for her, she was stunned by that smile. She took a moment to study her delicate face – bright brown eyes, button nose, and soft pink lips. The smile warmed as her fingers curled around Gaea’s wrist. “I’m Chibi Usa. What’s your name?”

There was something strangely familiar about this girl….


	13. The Cacophony of Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chibi Usa ran through the Time tunnel, gasping for air in the too-thin atmosphere. She thought that she would be safe once she got through the gates. She thought she would have plenty of time to get through the tunnel and find Usagi waiting on the other side. She was even stupid enough to think that while she was gone from Crystal Tokyo, the youma would be defeated by her parents and this whole mission would turn out to be a vacation in disguise.
> 
> Or so she thought, until the first youma snuck up behind her and yanked on her braid.

Chibi Usa ran through the Time tunnel, gasping for air in the too-thin atmosphere. She thought that she would be safe once she got through the gates. She thought she would have plenty of time to get through the tunnel and find Usagi waiting on the other side. She was even stupid enough to think that while she was gone from Crystal Tokyo, the youma would be defeated by her parents and this whole mission would turn out to be a vacation in disguise.

Or so she thought, until the first youma snuck up behind her and yanked on her braid.

She’d forgotten about the braid: the therapeutic move Sakura had performed to soothe her after the party, had become her enemy’s weapon. She’d barely gotten away from that first enemy and now there was a horde of them chasing her through the tunnel until her lungs burned and her legs ached. Many had been lost to the tunnel, distracted from the path by sounds and sights they were too curious to ignore. Others stayed close to her heels, reaching out for her hair and ankles when she least expected it.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she gasped as she pumped her legs, ducking behind a fallen column to catch her breath. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, breathing through her nose in a desperate attempt to slow her ragged gasps for air. After a few minutes of this, she peered around behind her. There were no flashes of color or maniacal laughter, although that didn’t mean anything.

She wearily unfolded her legs from beneath her body and peered around the corner, letting more of her head show as she searched for danger. Her backpack tugged her down, nearly toppling her as she remained poised on her knees, waiting for something to attack her. After a few moments of eerie silence, she exhaled and stood.

“Lost them,” she muttered as she turned back down the path. And ran right into something hard and fell backwards. “Ow,” she groaned.

“Oi, watch where you’re going, woman,” an annoyed voice said. She looked up… and up… at perhaps the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her life. She felt her jaw drop when he leaned over her, showing off an impressive amount of skin and well-defined muscles – he wore no shirt, only an open black vest – and let the charms of his necklace smack her in the forehead. “Hey, you okay? You’re not like… demented, are you?”

“Huh?” she said stupidly. The more he stared at her, the dumber she felt. His shoulder length wild blue hair hooded sharp blue eyes and his bronze skin was better suited for a Greek god on a hilltop instead of a strange man in the Time tunnel.

She took a closer look at the charms dangling in front of her eyes and squinted. They weren’t just baubles one would pick up at a street fair – these glittering crystals shone even in the near-complete darkness of the Time tunnel. He had his back to the oppressive wind and barely seemed to feel its pressure. And he had fangs.

“Oh…” Chibi Usa said as the blood drained from her face to settle somewhere in the pit of her stomach as she trembled. “You’re a youma.”

“Yeah,” he said, tilting his head. “Duh. This place is crawling with us right now. What I want to know is what a human, such as yourself, is doing in a dump like this. Why aren’t you still in the Crystal Palace? Didn’t you look outside before running headlong into a crowd of youma? An idiot would know that it was dangerous outside.”

“U-Um,” she said, thinking quickly. He didn’t seem to recognize her… how was that even possible? Every youma who had ever attacked the palace knew who she was on sight. Either because she had a sign tattooed on her forehead or they sensed something she didn’t – the bottom line was the youma always recognized – and often tried to kidnap – her.

“I thought the people in Crystal Tokyo were always rounded up and hidden somewhere when youma attack the city. Did you lose your way or something?” he continued on as if oblivious to her stunned expression. “I thought I heard that somewhere… they do hide you people, right? Thought it was a safe place for humans… did you get separated from your ma?”

A tendril of her hair brushed the top of her hand and then she remembered: she had her hair in a braid. That’s right: Sakura had braided her hair after she woke up with all of those bobby pins digging into her scalp. She hadn’t had time to put her hair into its usual two buns. 

She felt her face muscles tense in disbelief. No way…

Was it really that stupid? Was her hair the dead give away that she was the princess? Was all she’d ever needed for animosity a different hairstyle?

Then again, no one who knew her well would have been confused, as her face was easy to recognize. But to a stranger like a youma, who didn’t know her or had never seen anything but her profile from afar, wouldn’t have guessed who she was. Maybe her hairstyle was what all youma used to recognize her, as it was admittedly very unique. Didn’t they all call her “Rabbit?” Did they send out some sort of universal message to go after people who looked like rabbits? If so, she felt a little like an idiot as she tugged at her braid nervously.

The handsome youma was still staring at her unabashedly, taking in her blush and her uncomfortable fidgeting. He knew about the attack on the Crystal Palace and he knew that she was human… what would he do if he also knew that she was Princess Small Lady Serenity, heir and wielder of the Silver Crystal, carrying the Golden Crystal around her neck?

“He-llo,” he said, frowning. “Anyone in there?”

“I have to go,” she said stiffly, jumping to her feet and stomping into the wind of the tunnel. At first she remained stiff, thinking he would follow her. When she risked a glance back, he hadn’t moved at all. He just stared at her with a half-suspicious, half-curious expression on his face, his hands in his pockets and his legs crossed at the ankles.

She quickly turned back around and ran down the tunnel, wishing she didn’t feel the push of time against her, slowing her down.

She hadn’t been running for more than a few minutes when she stopped to catch her breath. When she turned back to see if anyone had followed her, she came up against a familiar chest and looked up. The youma from before stared down at her, unaffected by the wind or from the run. In fact, he looked mildly annoyed at her.

“Oi, you want to break your nose or something?” he said.

“Why are you following me?” she said, staring at him. Really, the fangs were freaking her out. But he had made no move to harm her, not even to shove her away from his chest. He just stared down at her with that mildly annoyed expression on his face.

“If I don’t look out for you, some other youma will eat you. I’d like to know how you’ve survived this long in one piece,” he said.

“Th-that isn’t a reason! Why are you following me!” she said, scowling. His strange attractiveness was wearing off and making her feel annoyed right back at him. She had enough to worry about – the attack, the other youma chasing her – without having to worry about some lost youma who followed her like a puppy. Although, she’d never met a youma who was interested in anything but killing her or using her. Was he trying to trick her perhaps?

“You’re pretty interesting,” he said, peering down at her. “And you’re a lot prettier than most of the girls I’ve seen lately. Do you have any idea how loose the girls in this part of the galaxy are?” When she just stared at him blankly, he frowned. “Am I speaking another language or something? Why do you keep staring at me like that?”

“You’re just… um, not like other youma I’ve met,” she admitted. She fought the blush that threatened to overtake her – loose women? – and headed back in the direction she’d been traveling. “You’re really weird,” she muttered. This time she didn’t look back to see if he followed: she could hear him now, keeping steady pace with her. The wind didn’t affect him at all and that really wasn’t fair. She hissed and drew a hand up over her face as it blew especially hard, determined to shove her off the path.

“Where are we going?” the youma asked, sounding nothing more than curious. When she glanced over her shoulder, she shuddered to find that he was nearly on her heels, he was so close. She blushed and took a few quicker steps to put distance between them. It didn’t work – he stayed nearly plastered to her back without physically touching her.

“I’m going to look for help,” Chibi Usa said, harassed and more than a little exasperated. “Seriously, why are you following me?”

He tilted his head and took a deliberate step away from her. When she didn’t budge, he sighed and turned his gaze away from her face to the path ahead of them. “I don’t know where I am,” he admitted. “And you seem to have a pretty good idea of where you’re going. Where are you going? I’m pretty sure the Crystal Palace is the other way.”

“It is,” she said, clenching and unclenching her hands around her elbows. It was bitterly cold in the tunnel and she squinted to see properly ahead of her. “If you want to get back, just follow the path in the opposite direction. Go through the door and you’ll be home.”

“Then why are you going this way? Where are you going?” he insisted, not even looking back over his shoulder to the exit. This close, she could smell him: a strange mixture of animal fur and car oil. It wasn’t something she smelled every day and it made her nervous that he was that close to her. She had a thing about personal space, especially when it came to youma.

“Nowhere,” she said unconvincingly. When he snorted and walked ahead of her, backwards, she glared at him. He smirked: the jerk was doing it on purpose. He saw her struggling when it was so easy for him. “Go away,” she growled. “You’re bothering me.”

“What’s ahead of us?” he said, ignoring her rude tone. When she continued on her way and attempted to ignore him, he stopped walking. This, in turn, forced her to stop as well. She shivered in the wind, wishing she’d grabbed her sweater before running off to the past, and made her equally annoyed with him. He didn’t shiver and he barely wore any clothing.

“Leave me alone,” she said, scowling. He didn’t look intimidated by her scowl so she tried to walk around him. He just stepped into her path.

“What’s ahead?” he asked again, tilting his head curiously.

“You shouldn’t be following me,” she said stubbornly. She ducked under his arm and tried to run but he just stepped in front of her again. This time, he grabbed her shoulders to keep her from getting ahead of him. “Let go!”

“Not until you tell me why it’s so important to go that way,” he said firmly.

“No,” she said, glaring at him. They stared at each other, almost nose to nose, for a few seconds. Finally, he exhaled and released her, furrowing his brows.

“You are impossible,” he told her. “Fine, if that’s such a hard question. Where are we? What is this place?”

“What do you mean?” she said, still glaring at him. It was a good thing he stood between her and the wind of the tunnel; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to look at him at all.

“This isn’t Crystal Tokyo,” he said, frowning. “It doesn’t smell right. And I can’t find anyone but you. Where is this?”

“It’s the Time tunnel,” she said reluctantly. “It’s not a place for anyone to be. You should hurry back and go through the door. Crystal Tokyo is on the other side.”

“Time?” he echoed, tilting his head. “If Crystal Tokyo is behind us, then where are you going?”

“Nowhere!” she yelled, throwing her hands up. “Just stop following me already!”

“If Crystal Tokyo is that way, then we’re going in a different direction in time,” he mused. “So either the past or the future. Why are you going to another time?”

“Just leave it alone,” she said, shouldering past him now. Her face was bright red with embarrassment and shame: what would Pluto say to her if she’d heard Chibi Usa blather on about the Time tunnel like that? What would the stoic Senshi do if a youma showed up with the knowledge that this Time tunnel could alter the course of history?

“Jeez, come on,” the youma said with a long-suffering sigh. “We’re both stuck here. Together. That means, we can’t keep arguing with each other if we hope to get out of here. Look, would it help you relax if I told you I wasn’t going to kill you?”

“NO,” Chibi Usa said without hesitation. He made a face at her but she ignored it, poking him in the chest. “Just stay out of my way!”

“Fine by me,” he said, glaring at her. Despite this, he still walked close to her and kept a vigilant lookout, although what he expected to see she wasn’t too sure. Was he watching out for youma he knew? Or for another way out? Maybe he didn’t believe her about the Time tunnel? That would be too good to be true!

“So if you don’t want to kill me, then what do you want?” Chibi Usa said, glancing at him sideways. She could sense the tunnel shifting – from the feel of the air alone, she felt that she must have been halfway to the past.

The youma glanced at her before looking ahead, smirking. This was a frightening sight, as his fangs were clearly visible when he curled back his lip in that way. Chibi Usa hurriedly looked away, shuddering.  
   
“Well, you seem to be the only one around here who has any idea of where they’re going. The others are too confused by getting sucked into this stupid tunnel to know what else to do – no one’s here to give them orders so they just wander and attack anything that moves. I figure if I follow the human, eventually I’ll get picked up by whoever comes to rescue you. Or I’ll at least have a snack in case I get hungry,” the youma said. Chibi Usa’s head whipped around and she squeaked, tripping over her own feet in an attempt to run away from him.  
   
“Gah!” she yelled when the youma grabbed her forearm and jerked her back by his side, continuing to walk as if she hadn’t just tried to run away from him.  
   
“Or I’m just bored,” he said, frowning. “Pretty sure that’s the main reason I’m doing this.”  
   
“Don’t talk like that!” she yelled, wrestling to free her arm. “Let me go! Let me go!” When he suddenly released her, she squeaked and fell on her butt. The youma stopped a few steps ahead of her and sighed, turning back to face her with his hands on his hips. Chibi Usa blanched and stared up at him, shivering with fear. From this angle, he looked far taller and deadlier than he did when he walked just behind her.  
   
“Come on, get up,” he said, scowling at her. She stared up at him, tensing her muscles to kick his legs out from under him. “Eh? What’s wrong? You sick or something?” He leaned over until they were nose to nose. She froze, transfixed by his glittering eyes and the blue hair that hung over them. The hair looked strange, but soft, like a puppy’s fur. She felt the inexplicable urge to pet him. It was as she was distracted that he reached out and flicked her in the forehead.  
   
“OW!” she yelled, covering her face. Although the sting was minor, the annoyed expression on his face made her yell as if she’d been mortally wounded. “That hurt! Why’d you do that?” She then ignored his hand and clambered to her feet.

“Stupid,” he said, arching an eyebrow. “If you don’t hurry up, I’ll get bored and leave you for someone to snack on.” For a moment, Chibi Usa could see nothing – she was so overcome with rage. She forgot everything she had forced herself to learn about being ladylike and treating others kindly, even when they treated her badly in return. Her inner five-year-old came out as she took aim and kicked him in the shin.

“OW!” he yelped, hopping on one leg as he clutched his leg. She shot him a contemptuous look and hmphed as she stalked on ahead of him.  
   
“Humans are so fragile,” he growled, rolling his eyes as he caught up with her. She tensed but continued walking, waiting for him to retaliate. After a moment, she figured that she didn’t care – the next time he flicked her in the forehead, she was dusting his ass.

They walked in silence for a while, listening to the roaring wind of the tunnel and the faint shuffle of their footsteps. At first, Chibi Usa remained tense, the words in case I get hungry echoing in her mind. But then she remembered that she was a Senshi, and strong, and not all that tasty, so she wasn’t going to get scared, dammit! Not to mention…  
   
She risked a peek at him through her bangs, glaring at him. He had a faint smile on his lips, showing the tips of his fangs, as he walked along beside her. He didn’t look all that eager to eat her… maybe he was just trying to get on her nerves? Yes… that was what it was. He looked like the type who’d want to get a rise out of her. He said it himself – he was bored.  
   
To test her theory, the next time he looked at her she stuck out her tongue and pulled her eyelid down at him. “You’re so freaky-looking!” she said.  
   
The youma stopped walking and stared at her, an astounded expression on his face. Then he scowled and tried to whack her on the back of the head, but she ducked.  
   
“You’re pretty funny-looking yourself!” he said indigently as they continued walking. He stared at her, letting his eyes take her in as they walked. She could feel him staring but she told herself not to be scared, no matter what, because she could totally dust him if she wanted to. Her hand unconsciously went up to clutch the brooch on her chest – the Silver Crystal felt warm in her hand. “ I’ve never seen a human with bright pink hair. What’s your natural color anyway? I’ve been trying to figure that out this whole time!”  
   
“Eh?” Chibi Usa said, blinking at him. She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, looking back at the long braided tail of pink hair. “What are you talking about? This is my natural color. I’ve never dyed it.”  
   
“Bull,” the youma said, arching an eyebrow. “That definitely isn’t human hair. I’ve seen youma with colors like that but never a human. It’s… way too pink to be anything but dyed. Unless you used some kind of spell on it?” He grabbed the end of her braid and tugged. She jerked backwards, whirling on him angrily.  
   
“Hey! Don’t do that!” she said, yanking her braid away from him. He held up his hands in surrender and grinned at her. “I’m serious! This is my natural hair color! Jeez… just because you’ve never seen it…” she grumbled as she stomped off, huddling against the wind.

“What’s your name?” he asked curiously, his chin nearly on her shoulder as they walked. She blushed but kept walking, determined not to let him intimidate her.

“Chibi Usa,” she said firmly. She thought about it and then carefully added, “Chibi Usa Chiba…”

“That’s a funny name…” he said, scratching his chin. He leaned back to give her space and descended into a strange, thoughtful silence. It made Chibi Usa so nervous that she jumped when he leaned towards her again. “Does it mean anything? I heard somewhere that human names sometimes have an extra meaning.”

“Oh… Chibi means “little.” My mom’s name is Usagi, just like mine, so everyone calls me “Little Usagi” – or “Chibi Usa.” It’s a way of differentiating us. And “Usagi” also means rabbit or bunny… so it really means “little bunny,” I think.”

“Eh?” he said, walking a little ahead so that they were now side by side. “So… what you’re saying is you don’t have your own name – you have your mom’s name?”

“Ngh! No! That’s not what I’m saying!” she said, her face heating up. “It’s not like I stole her name! Usagi is my name! But they can’t say, “Hey, Usagi, I need this!” and then expect us to know which one they’re talking about.”

“Oh… but Usagi is your name?” he said, frowning.

“Yes,” she said, nodding firmly. “It’s Sma-… er, it’s Usagi Chiba. But that doesn’t help either because my mom is Usagi Chiba also – it’s my dad’s last name.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said dismissively. “But what am I supposed to call you? You’re certainly little,” he stared down at her for emphasis, “but being called that isn’t a name.”

“But… you can’t call me Usagi either,” she said, holding up her hands defensively. “I’ll just think you’re talking about my mom!”

“But…” he frowned, but then his expression changed. “Oh, I know. You said your name is Chibi Usa, not Usagi. So how about I just call you Usa?”

“Neh?” she blinked at him. “Why won’t you just call me Chibi Usa? Everyone does.”

“I don’t care what everyone does – I’m gonna call you Usa,” he said, grinning to himself. When she made an exasperated face, he just smirked at her, showing off his fangs. “It’s decided. You can’t change my mind now.”

“F-Fine!” she said, throwing up her hands. “Just call me any random name that pops into your head!”

“But… Usa is your name,” he said, scowling.

“Whatever! Fine! Call me Usa, I don’t care, you…” she paused. “Er… what’s your name, anyway?”

“What? You don’t want to keep calling me “Hey you!” or “Stupid youma!” or anything?” he said with a smirk. Chibi Usa’s eyebrow twitched.

“Not anymore than you want to keep calling me “you idiot human!” What’s your name?” she said.

“Eoxinobran,” he said promptly, as if he’d been waiting for a while to tell her. Chibi Usa felt her jaw drop.

“That’s your name? Ee-oh-oxy… oxy… whatever? And you think my name is weird?” she said.

“What’s so weird about Eoxinobran?” the youma said, bristling a tad.

“Just that it’s… a mouthful. Ee-ox… ox… in… oh… bran…” she said. “Eee… oxion… oxeeee… ox…”

“Just call me Bran,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s the only part of the name that you pronounced correctly. Jeez, not like it’s that hard. But obviously I’m not talking to a very clever human, so why am I surprised by how limited you are?” The words stung but his tone cut deeper than words. She felt the inadequacy of her abilities in that moment. She wasn’t thinking of mispronouncing Bran’s name, but rather the countless other names she had mangled throughout her many years as the daughter of Earth’s king and queen. It made her next words come out choked with pain and embarrassment.

“You know,” Chibi Usa said, feeling the heat rise in her face, “it’s because you talk to me like that that I can’t stand you! Stop following me if I’m such a stupid human!”

“I didn’t mean any harm by it,” Bran said, his eyes widening in alarm. “I was just… making conversation. Bran is fine, it’s a nickname of mine anyway. Just… stop reacting to every little joke I make.”

“Joke? What have you made a joke about?” Chibi Usa exploded, clutching her head exasperatedly.

“The snack thing was a joke,” he said quickly. “I wouldn’t eat you. Seriously.”

“Seriously?!” Chibi Usa yelled.

“Yes, seriously,” Bran said, wincing. “Also, could you stop yelling? I have kind of sensitive hearing and your shrieking is really-,”

“SHRIEKING?” Chibi Usa yelled.

“Okay, enough already! If I shut up, will you shut up?” Bran said, jutting his chin out angrily. When Chibi Usa drew breath to yell at him, she bit down on her lip to keep from saying anything more. Okay… okay, she was calm. She was calm, and collected, and she was in control. In control. She took several deep breaths before she could stand to look at him again.

“Okay,” she said firmly.

“Thank the gods,” Bran muttered. When she glared at him, he snapped his mouth shut and looked away. She waited a moment more before she sighed and glanced ahead of them. She stopped in place. Bran kept going for a moment but then also stopped, following her line of vision. “What is it?”

“I don’t… oh,” she ducked immediately away, trying to find somewhere to hide. Bran followed without any comment, which surprised her a little. They ducked behind a small hill surrounded by a strange purple haze. “Youma,” she whispered. She hadn’t sensed it before with Bran standing so close to her but it was bright orange and wearing a floral dress that expanded ten feet from it’s body. Subtle, it was not.

“He really needs to talk to someone about that outfit,” Bran said, wrinkling his nose.

“That’s… a guy?” Chibi Usa said, pointing at… it. The youma whirled in a circle and giggled at something it held. When she realized it was a bone of some kind, she blanched.

“Can’t you tell?” Bran said, arching an eyebrow.

“Apparently not,” Chibi Usa said. “Anyway, we need to get past… him.”

“What do you think I am?” Bran said, staring at her.

“Uh,” Chibi Usa said, wondering if she would lose her head if Bran ended up being a girl. “Well, that isn’t important right now! What’s important is getting past that youma!”

“I’m a guy,” Bran said firmly. “I am male. I have never been a girl.”

“Oh good,” Chibi Usa said with some relief. “I thought you were but uh… that is…”

“You mean that if I was wearing a dress, you’d think I was a girl? Really?” Bran said, obviously affronted by this knowledge. “Because if you were wearing pants, I would be able to tell you were a girl.”

“I would have been confused,” Chibi Usa said with a blush. “But that isn’t the point!”

“I’m very masculine, you know,” Bran was still talking, even glaring at her. “I’ll have you know that I’ve slept with hundreds of women. They know I’m a guy.”

“Can we please stop talking about this?” Chibi Usa hissed, grabbing the nearest thing she could – his chain of baubles and jewels – and tugged. Bran’s expression completely changed and the hand he brought up level to her face had claws.

“Let go,” he said softly. Chibi Usa released the chain as if it burnt her, quickly edging away from him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-,” she started.

“I don’t need this,” Bran said, standing in one fluid movement. Chibi Usa flailed and tried to grab his leg, to pull him back out of sight, but he was already walking away. “You said the palace was back that way? Good.” He leapt away from her before she could say anything else.

Chibi Usa stared after him for a moment and then huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “If that’s all it took to piss him off and make him leave me alone, I would have done it earlier!”

“Oh, I do like little girls,” a new voice said from behind Chibi Usa. If she had not had years of Senshi training in the past, she would have been frozen to the spot. But at the one sound from the youma behind her, Chibi Usa dodged out of the way and leapt into the air just as the entire hill she’d been hiding behind exploded.

“No fair!” the youma cooed from below her, lifting long, tentacle-like fingers towards her. “I wanted to see your brains splatter all over the ground!”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Chibi Usa grunted, running in a wide arc around the creature. She had to keep the directions straight in her head so she wouldn’t get turned around. The door had to be close – she couldn’t get lost here. She would never find her way back.

“I don’t like being disappointed,” it – he – said with a pout. Up close he looked even more effeminate, with delicate petals for lips and eyes, a green stem for a nose. “I think I shall play with you before I kill you. Then I’ll eat you.” It smiled, showing very sharp teeth.

Chibi Usa tensed, her hand over her brooch as the words crammed into her mouth, ready to transform.

A streak of blue behind the youma was the only warning before it was cleanly cut in half. It shrieked and flailed but Bran grabbed its arm, wrenched its body forward while wrenching its wrist and shoulder back too far. It screamed again but then fell silent, collapsing on the ground. Bran kicked it in the head a couple times before finally releasing it, hopping lightly over its prone body towards Chibi Usa.

“Okay,” he said, holding his hands up in an I-surrender pose. “So it was really mean of me to joke about eating you. I was only kidding. I wouldn’t actually eat you. Okay?”

Chibi Usa stared from the collapsed youma – still breathing, she noted – to Bran as he approached her with his body turned slightly away, his head also slanted. He looked as if he were approaching a frightened animal. She slowly relaxed her body, wincing at the tension in her shoulders and legs as she straightened. She must have looked pretty terrified for him to be so nice.

“I thought you were leaving,” she said with a suspicious glare.

“I don’t like people touching my things,” Bran said stiffly. “I… overreacted.”

“That was really mean,” Chibi Usa said, putting her hands on her hips. “Just leaving me here and telling the youma exactly where I was.”

“I didn’t think about that,” Bran said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “Look, I’m not used to having to watch out for humans. I keep forgetting how fragile you are.”

“I don’t need protection,” Chibi Usa said, bristling. He held up his hands again.

“I don’t want to fight,” he said quickly. “I’m just trying to… explain. Why I left and came back so quickly.”

“Fine just… just explain next time,” Chibi Usa said, frowning. “I won’t touch your things and you won’t touch mine. How’s that?”

“Fine, Usa,” he said. Then he smirked. “Even if you beg me to.”

Chibi Usa blushed even as she rolled her eyes, stomping away from him. He chuckled and followed her, obviously pleased with himself for embarrassing her. They had only been walking for moments when she stopped again, her eyes fixed on the one thing she had been searching for in the tunnel.

Chibi Usa hesitated before she stepped forward. A moment of uncertainty passed over her and was gone. Was it right to let a youma through to an earlier time? Was it dangerous to be in his presence at all? Was it better to stand there internally debating or should she get moving before something worse found them?

“We’re here,” she said wearily. “This is where I’m going. It’s…” she hesitated. “Look, are you sure you don’t just want to go back home? I know you’re a youma and I know we’re supposed to be enemies… but you haven’t hurt me and that’s a first. If you want to just go home and pretend we never met, it would be a lot safer for you.”

“Hmm… a weak little human trying to protect the big bad fox? That’s so cute,” Bran said with a smirk. Chibi Usa noted the strange metaphor but ignored it, keeping her gaze focused and serious.

“I’m not trying to sound tough. I’m serious. Traveling into the past is no joke,” Chibi Usa said firmly.

“So we’re going to the past? Awesome,” Bran said, brushing past her to shove at the door. It wouldn’t budge, even when she saw the muscles of his arm cord and strain against it. He wasn’t weak – he should have been able to shove it open with ease. “Hey… the door’s busted. How do we get in?”

“Bran, seriously, think about it,” Chibi Usa insisted. “I’ve almost died every single time I’ve traveled to the past. I have no idea what I’m going to find on the other side this time and I want you to know what you’re up against. The people that I’m going to meet could kill you in one shot.”

Bran snorted. “I doubt that.” He smirked at her but the look faltered when he saw how serious she still was. He sighed and put his back to the door, leaning into it. “Look, I’ve thought about it ever since you let slip that this tunnel goes through time. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I first started following you. I don’t know what’s going on or the connection this time has with Crystal Tokyo, but I’m going to find out. I really want to know what you’re doing here. So if you’ll let me, I’ll just tag along. Alright?”

Chibi Usa had a million other questions – why did he want to know so badly? Didn’t he have people waiting for him back home? Why her? – but she focused instead on his stubborn attitude. Even though he phrased his comment as if he were asking permission, he was still leaning back into the door hard enough that his heels left indents in the stone beneath them. He was ready to chase her down if she tried to sneak back. The question was nothing more than a courtesy, a means of making life easier for him since he had no intention of being left behind.

“Fine,” she huffed. “But you do what I say!”

“You are not in a position to negotiate,” Bran observed amusedly.

“I am,” Chibi Usa said firmly, “if you have any interest in why I’m going. Because I can let you go in there and be completely confused about when we are, where we are, and what I am doing specifically. And like I said… the people I’m going to see could blast you in one shot. So don’t you think you should listen to me?”

“I still think you’re underestimating me,” Bran said. “I did just save your life, as I recall. But… I guess… I understand. Fine, you can be in charge. For now.”

Chibi Usa nodded grimly, noting the for now with a little trepidation. She could hope that he wouldn’t turn on her but there was no way to know for sure when he might change his mind. So she resolved not to think about it right now. She turned back to the door and pulled the little Time Key from her necklace and unlocked the door. Bran observed her motions with interest.

“What’s that?” he asked, also taking in the other lovely crystal on her necklace – the dormant Golden Crystal. She tucked it and the Time Key under her shirt before she pushed open the door.

“It’s how I got here,” Chibi Usa said evasively, keeping her gaze forward. “You won’t touch mine, remember? Don’t worry about it. You’re going to have to focus on what’s ahead of us.”

“What’s ahead of us?” he said, walking with her into the bright light beyond.

“Tokyo,” Chibi Usa said confidently. “About a thousand years in the past. Just remember: you can’t talk about the future or how different things are in the other time periods. You can’t tell anyone where you’re from-,” she paused as her eyes adjusted to the new light and the different air of the past. She looked around and frowned.

Instead of the lake dock in the park or her primary school’s playground, she had appeared in a place she had never been before. It was indoors, rather than outside as was usually the case when she appeared in the past, and it looked as if something had attacked the place. There were overturned tables and blasted walls – typical youma activity, but it could have been anything else – and the electrical charge of fighting peppered the air.

“Tokyo sure looks cheery,” Bran said, eyeing a particularly charred desk. Chibi Usa shook her head, hesitating before she stepped forward.

“This isn’t Tokyo,” she said doubtfully. “At least, not any part of Tokyo I recognize. I’ve always gone to Tokyo… what did I do wrong?” She pulled out her Time Key and stared at it, concentrating.

“So this thing doesn’t hone in on your place of destination? How does it work?” Bran asked, his gaze drifting over their surroundings more closely. His hands hung loose and open by his sides but his foot tapped impatiently.

“I don’t really understand how it works,” Chibi Usa admitted. “I usually think of a person and then I appear. I always think of…” and then she froze.

“You always think of what?” Bran asked, turning his gaze to her. She remained frozen, her mind racing. Usagi. I always think of Usagi.

“I was thinking of someone else this time,” she muttered. Pluto… I was thinking about how much fun I would have coming to visit her and Hotaru. I didn’t center on Usagi. What if Pluto is somewhere else – fulfilling some other mission I have no business wondering about? In another time? The worry set in between her shoulder blades and pinched her eyebrows. “I may have screwed up, big time.”

“Can’t we just go back? Use that thingy,” Bran said, reaching for her shirt. She slapped his hand away and glared.

“Don’t touch it! Jeez, didn’t we just talk about this? I don’t touch yours and you don’t touch mine?” she said, stepping away from him with her hands to her chest. It wasn’t just his invasion of her personal space that had set her pulse racing. The Golden Crystal, resting comfortably against her skin this entire time, had given an unpleasant lurch at his proximity. But now that he wasn’t so close, it was still pulsing against her skin, like a gentle reminder. Like a gentle, angry reminder.

Bran’s focus strayed to somewhere just over Chibi Usa’s shoulder and he slowly smirked. Chibi Usa looked over her shoulder, dreading another youma.

The scream hit her before she saw the woman cowering behind a table, looking as if she’d gone through a war zone. Chibi Usa jumped and whirled around, realizing a few things in quick succession. First, the woman was screaming because of Bran and not some other threat. Second, she was human and, while not entirely visible, she did not appear to be harmed. And third, Bran was making it worse by smirking at her.

“No no! It’s okay!” Chibi Usa said, rushing to her side. The woman threw her arm up to protect herself, cowering further behind her meager protection. Chibi Usa backed up quickly before touching her, holding her hands palm-out in a gesture of peace. “We won’t hurt you. I’m sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Chibi Usa took that opportunity to get a better look at the woman. She had lovely chestnut colored hair and striking eyes, currently wide enough to see the whites all around. Her clothes, albeit tattered, looked expensive and lovely. It was a shame they were ruined, in fact, because they suited her nicely. As her eyes traveled from her broken shoe up to the woman’s face, she saw that it was transfixed on someone behind her. She was trembling and panting slightly, her eyes glued to Bran. 

“Why are you talking to that… that…” the woman said, her voice hoarse. She touched her hand to her throat, shrinking away when Bran took a deliberate step closer to Chibi Usa.

“I prefer monster,” Bran said, smirking to show all of his even, white teeth. Chibi Usa lost her temper. The smirk vanished with a disgruntled “oomph” as she elbowed him in the sternum.

“You are not going to scare the first person we see!” she hissed 

When she glanced back worriedly at the woman, she’d visibly relaxed and straightened to her full height. She was about the same height as Chibi Usa, which was not very impressive, but her bearing made her seem taller. She shook herself as if to wake from a dream, her eyes now shifting between Bran and Chibi Usa. 

“Whatever,” Bran muttered, averting his gaze as if the woman no longer existed. He looked at Chibi Usa once and then away, huffing under his breath. She could see the muscles in his legs bunch up under him. “I’ll make sure none of my friends are still hanging around.”

“You go do that,” Chibi Usa said coldly. Bran snorted and took off, easily leaping over the disaster zone around them. She watched him go, trying not to admire how easily he avoided troublesome spots. She wished she could jump with such ease. She turned back to the woman.

“I’m sorry about him,” she said with a comforting smile. She thought of several choice words she would have with Bran later – if only she knew him better! Then she could figure out if he was really a danger to this woman or not – and reached out her hand to the woman. “I’m Chibi Usa. What’s your name?”

“…Gaea,” she said. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” she added.

“The same to you,” Chibi Usa said hurriedly. She forced herself not to curtsy, although she’d gotten so used to it that the restraint hurt her knees, as she motioned to the cacophony behind them. “Um… do you know who did all of this? And… um… where we are?” When we are? she asked silently.

“I’m afraid I don’t know who did this,” Gaea said, visibly shaking herself. “Demons… like your… friend…” she paused and looked after him, perhaps to make sure he wouldn’t overhear her, before looking back at Chibi Usa, “they appeared while we were having tea. They attacked. I don’t know how many came but it was an overwhelming attack.”

“Where are we?” Chibi Usa said, guilt flushing her cheeks as she fiddled with her hands. She knew perfectly well where the youma had come from but she wasn’t about to tell this poor woman about the future. She looked as if she’d had a rough time of it even without Chibi Usa’s help.

“We are in the Artemis IV Compound,” Gaea said, a faint line forming between her eyebrows. “How did you get in here? Despite the attack, it isn’t easy to get past all the security. Do you have any kind of identification?”

“Ah, I do!” Chibi Usa said quickly. “But I… lost it in the rubble. A youma picked me up and started carrying me away, so I thought I was somewhere else, but then Bran saved me.”

“Bran?” Gaea said, arching an eyebrow. It took her another moment for her gaze to shift back and away from her, following the trek Bran had taken. “You mean the creature? It has a name?”

“Of course he does,” Chibi Usa said, her cheeks coloring with annoyance now. Sure, he was obnoxious. And yeah, he was probably pure evil and just waiting for the perfect opportunity to destroy her. And it was probably a stretch to lie that he had rescued her when he showed absolutely no anxiety over leaving her alone with a shell-shocked stranger when he knew nothing about their surroundings. But… he wasn’t a creature.

With a soft whooshing sound as the only warning, Bran landed smoothly beside Chibi Usa. His eyes were alert despite the relaxed stance he took, leaning on one leg. “This place is crawling with my kind,” he said, sounding surprised. “You two are not safe just standing here.”

Chibi Usa’s hand crawled up to clench around her brooch. If anything tried to come at them, she’d be ready. Gaea edged closer to Chibi Usa but otherwise she didn’t change her determined expression.

“I know where we can go to be safe,” she said. “They won’t allow you to come in, but at the very least we can protect the girl.”

“I can protect her better than anyone you could find,” Bran snorted, turning up his nose.

“I can protect myself just fine,” Chibi Usa grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

“We can’t stand here for much longer without being noticed. Let’s move. We can decide what to do when we get wherever it is we are going,” Bran said, taking a firm hold of Chibi Usa’s elbow. Before she or Gaea could protest, he’d scooped Gaea into the crook of his arm, thrown Chibi Usa over his shoulder, and taken off into the air. Chibi Usa squealed and grabbed onto his shoulders to keep from falling off him. Gaea cursed and kicked violently, screaming when he landed hard on the ground and immediately took off again.

“Where to?” Bran said, sounding disgustingly cheerful. Chibi Usa wanted to elbow the back of his head but she was too worried that he would drop one of them.

“I’m going to kill you!” she said instead, although it didn’t sound quite so frightening when her voice cracked in the middle. Gaea, who had seemed much more prone to panic initially, didn’t make another frightened sound after the first scream. Instead, Chibi Usa could hear her giving Bran directions, avoiding certain paths and following others.

“How will we know when we get there?” Chibi Usa said, bracing herself for another rough landing as Bran took off into the air again, sailing over a particularly nasty blast. All she could recognize was a broken pen but nothing else remained in the small crater.

“The Senshi should be close by,” Gaea said. Bran’s grip on Chibi Usa tightened for a moment before relaxing, his pace steady. “If we can find one of them, I am certain we will be directed to safety. I just don’t understand where the monsters came from. I don’t know how this happened.”

Chibi Usa squirmed and ducked her head against Bran’s back. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t been so hasty, if she hadn’t been so careless coming back to the past…

“Why is it that whenever something interesting is going on, Senshi swarm like flies?” Bran said, pausing in front of what had once been a door. Something had ripped through it, as if a giant hand had punched its way free. Bran lowered Chibi Usa back to her feet and released Gaea, eyeing the interior.

“The Senshi have always been that way,” Gaea said, with that same note of grim amusement in her voice. Chibi Usa frowned and kept her face averted, following them inside. Immediately through the threshold, Chibi Usa let her gaze travel over the room. Computers and machinery lined the walls and row upon row of more computers spanned the entire space, leaving only enough room to allow three people to walk comfortably shoulder to shoulder.

Chibi Usa hesitated before stepping forward, clenching her hands at her sides to keep from touching anything. Despite the destruction outside, not a single monitor or device was broken in this room. A moment later, she felt the unmistakable presence of-,

“Don’t move,” Sailor Uranus hissed. Bran froze, his head held back stiffly as Uranus held her sword against his throat. “You will release these women. You will step away from them without attacking them. You will do this when I say.”

“Uranus,” Chibi Usa said, pushing forward. Bran hissed when the sword moved closer to him, glowing with an alien light. Uranus’s stony, unforgiving face turned at the sound of her voice but it took her a moment to recognize who it was. “Sailor Uranus, it’s me.”

“Chibi Usa?” Uranus said at last, arching both eyebrows. “What in the world are you doing here?”

“It’s a long story,” Chibi Usa said, grinning widely. Despite the circumstances, Chibi Usa was very happy to see Uranus. It had seemed like forever since they’d spoken to each other. “You don’t have to threaten Bran anymore, he won’t try anything.”

“Bran?” Uranus shifted her gaze back to him and frowned. “You mean the youma? Chibi Usa, I would have thought that you of all people would know better than to trust his kind.”

“I don’t really trust him. Yet. Still,” Chibi Usa said, bristling a little. “He’s with me. He won’t do anything.”

Uranus hesitated only a moment and then removed her sword, sheathing it at her side. Bran stared incredulously at her, eyes darting back and forth between her and Chibi Usa. He took a hesitant step back, closer to his savior, and frowned.

“When you said you had powerful friends, I had no idea you meant…” he paused, gaze jerking up as another figure darted into the room dusting off her hands. She arched an eyebrow as she approached but, as was usual for her, Sailor Neptune didn’t seem entirely surprised to see them all there.

“Chibi Usa,” she said in a gentle, stern way. “What are you doing in the past?”

“It’s a long story,” Chibi Usa said again, blushing a little. Why was everyone treating her like a little kid? She didn’t look like one anymore… she looked almost as old as they did now. She huffed, annoyed that they would still only see the little brat who’d first fallen from the sky all those years ago.

“You have come at an awkward time,” Neptune said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Pluto and Saturn are fighting against a swarm of youma. We have no idea where they all came from.”

“I’m sorry,” Chibi Usa said, guilt eating away at her yet again. “It’s all my fault. When I opened the tunnel, I didn’t mean to bring them all with me. They were attacking the palace and I was trying to go back, but then they followed me. This is all my fault.”

“The youma are from the future?” Uranus said.

“You opened the tunnel?” Bran interrupted, his eyebrows raised.

“That would certainly explain how they all got here so quickly,” Neptune mused as if neither had spoken. “The security in this facility was enough that even Uranus and I had trouble getting in. And some of the youma here possess neither the skill nor the power to get in any other way than through something like the tunnel. We should find Pluto – if this really is an issue with the tunnel, she should know.”

“I’m sorry,” Chibi Usa said, fiddling with the end of her hair. Both Neptune and Uranus stared at her hair, then up at her face.

“Is there any reason…” she motioned to Chibi Usa’s hair, frowning.

“There was a party,” Chibi Usa said, increasingly conscious of Bran staring at her. Maybe her theory about her giveaway hair was about to be tested…

“We should go,” Neptune said, still frowning at her hair. She extended a hand to Gaea and smiled warmly. “I’ll help you.”

Gaea, who had been silently watching them all until then, jumped at being addressed. She took Neptune’s hand and allowed herself to be led further into the room and away from the others. Uranus sauntered closer and came nearly nose-to-nose with Bran, her nose wrinkled as she eyed him up and down. Bran stood his ground, glaring directly into her eyes.

“You have a problem?” Bran said.

“I want to make something clear, right now,” Uranus said, shoving Bran back with one hand. “You may think you’re safe because you are not our immediate problem. But the moment, the instant you turn around and attempt to betray Chibi Usa? I’m going to be waiting for you. And I have no qualms about destroying you in the time it takes for me to blink.” She stepped away from him to follow Neptune and sneered. “Just a friendly warning.”

“Thanks,” Bran said sarcastically, glaring at her back as she turned away. He waited for Uranus to leave earshot before he turned to Chibi Usa. She averted her gaze, holding her chin up stubbornly.

“So,” he said. “You opened the tunnel. That would have been good to know.”

“Why?” Chibi Usa muttered. “It wouldn’t have helped you.”

“I dunno,” Bran said, rolling his shoulders and grinning to reveal white teeth. “If you could open it, why didn’t you just throw me into the wrong time or something? Gotten rid of me?”

“I didn’t think about that,” Chibi Usa said honestly. “Besides, you’re a youma who was attacking the palace. I still don’t think I can trust you. I would be stupid to trust you.” The last part she said more to herself than to Bran. She needed to remind herself of that. Every time she forgot what he was, she took one step towards being blindsided some time in the future when he decided she had outlived her usefulness. All she needed now was a youma that knew how to use the Time tunnel to alter history. She shuddered at the thought, forcefully reminded of the whole reason she’d traveled to the past in the first place.

“Well, that’s good. I don’t trust you either,” Bran said, offering her an amused smirk before motioning after Uranus and Neptune. “Hurry up before they leave without you, Usa.”

“Stop calling me that,” Chibi Usa grumbled, stomping after Uranus.

“Never,” Bran laughed, following after her.

...

“Hurry,” Usagi whispered into Naru’s ear. They were pressed up against each other in a dark alley. Naru breathed hard through her mouth, her fingers curled around Usagi’s arm as they slid along the wall, trying not to make noise. Usagi froze and Naru with her, opening her eyes wider to catch movement. Even as hyper alert as she was, she couldn’t hear anything.

Usagi waited longer, keeping them perfectly straight as she waited for something. A moment later, her body relaxed and she tugged Naru to the back door of the Crown Arcade and slipped inside, making sure the door clicked behind her.

The back storage room was a mess – overturned boxes and crushed cans everywhere. There were also chunks of glass all over the floor but Usagi passed through as if there was nothing stopping her. Naru had to tug her away from some particularly nasty pieces of glass.

“Usagi?” a voice drifted from somewhere inside. The arcade was a total mess. The crane game had been completely obliterated, with toys and stuffing everywhere and glass all over the dented tables and melted chairs. The only game, in fact, that hadn’t been touched was the Sailor V game. Which was where the voice had come from.

“I’ve got Naru,” Usagi said, approaching the small figure on top of the Sailor V game, an intercom attached to its ear. To her ear. It was Luna, Usagi’s cat. Usagi’s cat was talking. Her cat was talking.

“You’re covered in blood,” Luna was saying, her voice alarmed. “Are you alright? Are you injured?”

“I’ll be fine,” Usagi said, as if it were perfectly normal to find her cat talking to her. Naru followed her in a daze, only slightly surprised when she saw that the Sailor V game had opened a path into a dimly lit corridor leading down into the Arcade’s basement. Because if Usagi’s cat was talking then why wouldn’t the Sailor V game lead into a secret, underground headquarters?

“The entire city is overrun,” Luna said, punching in some keys on the Sailor V game – when did a keyboard appear? – and then touched the screen when strange symbols appeared. Usagi pulled Naru after her, staring at the screen as a window popped open, showing an aerial view of a city. It took Naru a moment to realize that it was the same picture that the news stations always showed overlooking Tokyo when they did weather reports. The landscape in the image was covered by ominous black clouds with monsters of all sizes threading in and out of them, like multi-colored lightening flashes across the sky.

“How did this happen? Why? Do we know who’s doing this?” Usagi said, squinting at the picture.

“We don’t know, it happened so suddenly,” Luna said, taking one glance at Naru before turning back to Usagi. “We need to get you out there – Makoto, Minako, and Rei are out right now fighting. Mamoru and Ami are downstairs with Motoki trying to make contact with Setsuna to see if they have anything to do with it.”

“Is it possible that the monarchs really are youma? And they decided to attack Tokyo because they found… us?” Usagi said, also glancing at Naru before focusing on Luna again.

“We don’t know yet,” Luna said. “Go down below. We need to establish communication before we can do anything else. We’re having trouble though. It seems that the youma have attacked the base as well.”

Usagi nodded and, holding Naru’s hand, walked down the staircase, leaving Luna behind. A plethora of computer monitors and several keyboard panels lined the small room, cocooning Ami in their light as she typed at a breath-taking speed. Mamoru and Motoki stood on either side of her chair, their eyes following her movements as windows of text in different languages and symbols appeared and disappeared, seemingly at random.

“What do we know?” Usagi said, coming up beside Mamoru.

“We know that Tokyo has been completely overrun,” Ami said without looking away from her screens or even pausing as she typed. “We also know that the base in America has been at least partially taken over, except they were invaded from the inside. Based on their security footage, some youma have escaped the compound and are now making their way towards civilization. Uranus and Neptune were able to catch some of the stragglers but we lost communication with them when they reached the lower levels.”

“We need to get out there,” Mamoru said to Usagi, his face grim as he turned to her. “Venus and Mars are already overwhelmed by the number of youma attacking Tokyo tower. They won’t be able to handle much more of this without your fire power.”

“Let’s go now,” Usagi said.

“Don’t worry about Naru and Motoki,” Ami said. “Luna and I will watch out for them. We need to transform quickly now. Anyone who sees us must not know our identities, if it is at all possible that they are not known already.”

“But…” Usagi glanced nervously at Naru and bit her lip.

“We don’t have a choice,” Ami said. “Motoki already knows. Naru is the only one who doesn’t.”

“Know what?” Naru said, feeling a little confused by all of the conflicting and confusing things she was hearing. Had she bumped her head a little too hard before? Was she dreaming all of this strangeness? Usagi slipped her hand out of Naru’s and sighed, lowering her gaze to the floor. She bit her lip and ran her hands over her skirt before she finally looked up again, meeting Naru’s gaze.

“I’m sorry that you have to find out like this,” she said. Then she touched her brooch and the small room filled with light.

“Moon Eternal Makeup!”

“Mercury Crystal Power!”

Ami didn’t move from her seated position but now, she looked no more like Ami than Motoki did. She wore the sailor uniform of a Senshi and when her fingers flew over the keys, the screen took on a definite blue tint. But it was Usagi… it was Usagi who made her mouth drop open.

“You’re… you’re…” Naru stammered.

“Wow,” Motoki said, staring at her. “It was one thing to hear it… and to see Rei and Minako change but… I’m sorry, Usagi, I never would have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”

Ami frowned and typed something, sparing a moment to touch her ear. A blue visor appeared over her eyes, lined with formulas and fast-moving text. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for this conversation. We need you two out there.”

“We’re going,” Mamoru said, only he wasn’t Mamoru anymore either. The back of his cape tickled Naru’s ankles and then he was gone up the stairs and talking to Luna as if he too didn’t think it was weird. Motoki stared after him, shaking his head.

“So weird,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry,” Usagi said, hugging Naru. She felt the pressure of Usagi’s brooch, felt the soft caress of her gloves, and she too was gone. The clumsiness she always associated with Usagi – the way she grabbed her arm too hard, the way she fell into a hug, the way she side-stepped and stumbled her way on stairs – was suddenly gone. She was all grace and effortless energy and… and she was Sailor Moon.

“I think I need to sit down,” Naru said, her knees buckling. Motoki swept in and caught her before she fell, carrying her to one of the chairs at another station of computers. “Oh my god,” she whispered, putting a hand to her mouth and closing her eyes.

“It’s a shock, I know,” Motoki said soothingly. “But when the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach goes away, you’ll see that it isn’t that much of a surprise. Well…” he smiled apologetically, “most of it isn’t that much of a surprise.”

“I’m here,” Ami suddenly said as a large window blurred for a moment and showed a screen and a group of serious-looking people on the other side. Naru and Motoki both gasped when they recognized two people – two very distinct people – they had been seeing almost every day on television.

“Good,” Pluto said. “What’s your status?”


	14. The Slippery Slope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That explains the time we went out for ice cream and Usagi had just ordered her favorite five scoop, mint chocolate chip, vanilla, chocolate, with extra sprinkles ice cream and just before she had any, just left. She said something about having to study for math,” Naru said, poking her chocolate milkshake with a bent spoon. Motoki covered his cracked coffee mug with both hands. In the glow of Mercury’s computer, they looked like Smurfs.
> 
> “I’m not sure which is more unbelievable: abandoning her favorite ice cream or doing so to study math,” Motoki said. Naru smiled and sipped her milkshake. “I’ve got a good one. Mamoru and I were having lunch on my break and I’d accidently let slip something kind of embarrassing-,”
> 
> “Really? What?” Naru interrupted. Motoki paused long enough to avert his eyes and rub the back of his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments! Just two more chapters to go.

“That explains the time we went out for ice cream and Usagi had just ordered her favorite five scoop, mint chocolate chip, vanilla, chocolate, with extra sprinkles ice cream and just before she had any, just left. She said something about having to study for math,” Naru said, poking her chocolate milkshake with a bent spoon. Motoki covered his cracked coffee mug with both hands. In the glow of Mercury’s computer, they looked like Smurfs.

“I’m not sure which is more unbelievable: abandoning her favorite ice cream or doing so to study math,” Motoki said. Naru smiled and sipped her milkshake. “I’ve got a good one. Mamoru and I were having lunch on my break and I’d accidently let slip something kind of embarrassing-,”

“Really? What?” Naru interrupted. Motoki paused long enough to avert his eyes and rub the back of his neck.

“Just… something embarrassing,” he said. “Anyway, Mamoru always loves to rub stuff in my face, especially when I do something stupid that I normally wouldn’t do. So he was really getting into it, getting pretty high and mighty on me, and you could just tell he was warming up for more… but then he got a call. And he said he forgot something and had to go.” Motoki shook his head. “He loves to gloat. No way he would have left unless it was something urgent.”

“You’re right, it seems really obvious now that we know the truth,” Naru said. “And I guess… I’m happy. Not about Usagi having to go out at all hours of the night and risk her life to fight youma in the name of love and justice,” she paused, waving her hand vaguely, “but the part about her being Sailor Moon. Do you know how many times she’s rescued me?”

“Probably more times than you remember,” Motoki said, sliding from his stool to the small counter in the back. Mercury typed away, eyes fixed on a long string of equations that could have been alien sentences or foreign math for all he knew the difference. He poured himself a refill of coffee, dumped in a few packets of sugar, and returned to his stool.

“What do you mean?” Naru said, pulling out the straw with a squelch and licking the end.

“Mamoru was telling me that they’ve been fighting evil for at least two years. The first time they did, time went back almost a whole year and they relived that year as if nothing had happened. So we don’t remember an entire year that they do. Oh, and he said that a bunch of times the entire Earth’s memory was erased.”

Naru took a moment to absorb this new information. She tapped the end of her straw against her upper lip, frowning absently. “That makes sense now. Usagi would sometimes say things and talk about places we’d supposedly been but I wouldn’t remember what she was talking about. And then she’d look a little panicked, like she’d talked about some forbidden topic, and she’d be really obvious about changing the subject. I guess it never bugged me because she was always doing that and I just thought she had a bad memory.”

“Mamoru too,” Motoki said. “When we first became friends in secondary school, he was always punctual and precise. He never missed any anniversary or birthday or school event. But then, I guess when he became Tuxedo Mask, all of a sudden he was half asleep during class, never available, and constantly missing things he never would have missed before.”

“We thought we knew them so well but when they changed that much, we didn’t think to ask them why,” Naru said, smiling wanly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stared down at her empty milkshake glass as if it held the secrets to the universe. Motoki smiled faintly and traced a finger along the rim of his mug.

“Guess we both sucked as friends,” he said. They smiled at each other.

“I’ve traced the negative vibes from both the Tokyo attacks and the American assault on the compound,” Mercury said. Naru and Motoki perked up, setting aside their mugs and turning their attention to her. One of the monitors flashed for a moment and a video feed showed Sailor Pluto typing on a huge keyboard. “According to my calculations, the area they’ve inhabited is too large for us to cover by foot. We can’t hope to catch even half of them through divide and conquer tactics.”

“Perhaps if we were to teleport to the various locations, we could pinpoint the center of the densest areas and do a wide sweep to destroy the biggest threats,” Pluto said as she typed. “That way, we can conserve our energy and hit our locations more quickly. Perhaps if we did that, we could contain them all.”

“There are too many of them,” Mercury said, shaking her head. She tapped her earring and a string of writing and diagrams flashed in front of her visor. “We’ve never experienced the sheer number of youma that is currently infiltrating Tokyo alone. And since we have no idea what caused it, for all we know more could be on the way.”

“Until we find the source, we will have to deal with the aftermath,” Pluto said. “I’m sending over the figures from the compound computers. Do we have any idea how long we can hold them off before we have a solid plan?”

“At least another hour or two,” Mercury said. “The longer we hold them off, the less energy we have to work with. As it is, we simply don’t have the kind of power to take them all out. Not unless we were to do a single concentrated blast that covers both Tokyo and America… and any other place where they have descended. As it is, we can’t.”

“If only we had a conduit of some kind,” Pluto mused, leaning forward on her palms to stare into the camera. “The Crystal alone wouldn’t be able to blanket the entire Earth, not at the power level Sailor Moon is at right now. But if we could somehow harness the Crystal’s power and magnify it over the Earth… but we also have to be careful that Sailor Moon doesn’t use too much energy. It could kill her.”

“If a conduit is all we need, then I have a mostly-solid plan,” Mercury said, the fingers of her left hand flying over to another keyboard. “It’s crazy though.”

“It can’t be crazy if it’s one of your ideas,” Pluto said with a strained smile. One side of Mercury’s lips hitched upward for a moment and then lowered, her expression calm as she continued typing.

“I’m having a bit of trouble at the moment but if you would give me another – there. I’m in. I’ve hacked the Mercury Planet Computer,” she said.

“You’ve… what?” Pluto said, her face draining of color. “Just now?”

“It was a bit of a nuisance but I have plenty of loopholes to get around the firewalls. There were a couple hackers trying to stop me but I tied them up in loose data,” Mercury said, pausing long enough to read over a long block of blue text that poured over the screen as if it were a waterfall. “It’s a little complicated but I’ve rerouted all the commands to my computer and I’ve hooked it up to… there it goes, now you’re connected as well. If you see a flashing yellow light in the corner it means someone is trying to hack into your system. Just let me know and I’ll get rid of them.”

“Sometimes you scare me,” Pluto said, shaking her head incredulously. “Hacking the Mercury Planet Computer all by yourself… how did you even know about it? I’d forgotten it was still active.”

“Luna mentioned something about the planet being a huge network of computers at one point and between exams, I had some free time so I logged in through an invisible guest and took a look around,” Mercury said. Her fingers paused for a moment as she frowned. “We can discuss how later, if you’d like, but I would rather tell you the rest of my idea first.”

“Certainly,” Pluto said, half-smiling as she put a hand on her hip. A sharp piercing sound cut across the sound system and Pluto twisted around, hair swishing behind her as she lifted her staff. “Dead Scream,” she whispered, sending a ball of purple energy zooming off screen. Something shrieked and a moment later, Pluto turned back to the screen. “Saturn is somewhat overwhelmed.”

“As we all are,” Mercury said, her eyebrows pinching. “Is she alright?”

“She will be when we get this done,” Pluto said.

“Chibi Usa!” Saturn’s unmistakable voice interrupted. Pluto’s head spun around and Mercury perked up. Just off to the left, a tall pink-haired girl, a bedraggled woman, and what was unmistakably a monster came into view. “Get out of the way!”

“He’s with her,” Uranus said, her voice low and menacing. “Don’t try anything, Chibi Usa’s got him under her thumb. He hasn’t so much as muttered a curse since we found them.”

“What in the world are you doing here?” Pluto said, hurrying towards them. She gave the youma a dirty look and then placed her fingertips against Chibi Usa’s face, her smile warming around the eyes and changing her entire expression. The tension between her eyebrows evaporated and even her back relaxed. “I am happy to see you.”

“You won’t be in a second,” Chibi Usa said miserably. Mercury leaned closer to the screen, frowning. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault, that everything is under attack. The youma staged an attack in the future and the palace was under siege. I came here and opened the tunnel and they just came after me. It’s all my fault!”

“The youma came from the future?” Pluto said, her voice rising. “The tunnel is still open?”

“I don’t know,” Chibi Usa said anxiously. “I didn’t realize how bad it was, for the youma to be in Tokyo too. Neptune said that there are… are thousands, maybe even tens of thousands all over the Earth and we don’t even know if there are more and some are escaping and attacking innocent people-,”

“I will take care of it,” Pluto said, her lips twisting into first a frown and then a scowl. “This is going to be a problem. Uranus, Neptune, both of you take over defending their Majesties. Saturn will have to work with Mercury to execute her plan. If the youma are indeed blanketing the planet, we will need drastic measures to protect the planet.”

“Can’t we use the Crystal?” Chibi Usa said, glancing anxiously at the youma for a moment before quickly looking back. “Sailor Moon has it, doesn’t she?”

“It won’t be enough,” Pluto said. A new tension filled the room and Mercury eased back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know that it is a truth we would rather not hear, but we can’t. The Crystal’s powers would only saturate the area around it, perhaps cover all of Japan if we pushed it. The risk to Sailor Moon would be astronomical and in the end, we would be left weaker but no better off. We need a conduit for the power. Mercury has a plan but I can’t… I need to get back to the tunnel. I need to seal it. You won’t be able to return for some time.”

“I understand,” Chibi Usa said, nodding firmly. “I am prepared to deal with the consequences of my foolish actions. Please forgive me.”

“Small Lady,” Pluto said softly, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on Chibi Usa’s forehead. Chibi Usa blushed and tucked her chin down, hiding her face with her bangs. “There is nothing to forgive. Please be safe. I cannot protect you where I am going.”

“I’ll be okay,” Chibi Usa said, grabbing onto Pluto’s wrist and nuzzling her hand. “Please just be careful, there are a lot of youma there.”

“It is they who should fear my coming,” Pluto growled, her body crackling with energy. She turned to Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, and nodded. “I leave her safety in your hands.”

“You can count on us,” Uranus said, grinning bitterly.

“I will keep you informed,” Pluto said, glancing at the computer screen. Twisting her staff above her head in a wide arc, she vanished in a heartbeat.

“I am here,” Saturn said, moving closer to the screen. “What is your idea?”

Mercury nodded and launched into a highly technical, highly confusing explanation that quickly lost Motoki and Naru’s attention. They glanced at each other anxiously, their fingers curled around their beverage.

“What in the world is Chibi Usa doing mixed up in all of this?” Motoki whispered, his eyes a little wide.

“After seeing Usagi transform into Sailor Moon, I don’t think anything can surprise me anymore,” she whispered back. “I had no idea it was so bad out there. Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“Ami said that she has a plan,” Motoki pointed out. “And even if I don’t understand a word of what she’s saying, she seems to know what she’s doing. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

...

A mechanical clicking filled the small room. Mara slowly peeled her arm off from over her eyes, glaring at the digital alarm blinking at her from the ceiling. She sighed and yawned, arching her back into a long stretch. She sat up and ruffled her short blue hair, peering up at the ceiling for another minute. “Received,” she grunted and the room fell silent again. “Light,” she said and the overhead lights came on. She swayed in bed for a moment, trying to remember the last thing she was doing. Oh right, she’d just spent the past 48 hours configuring the main computer. Some punk kid in the Second Circle schools had tried to hack the main computer – there was always some hotshot trying to do the impossible – and she’d spent endless hours fixing all the broken data he’d left behind.

So now someone else was trying it again. Just perfect. She stood and slouched as she went to her closet, putting on the bodysuit that would connect her to the computer. She would have liked it except that it reminded her too much of her job. Sometimes, it would have been nice to take a break. Or at least sleep in.

“Princess?” a voice came through the walls. Mara sighed.

“Can’t I take the time to get dressed before I have to slog through some stupid kid’s mistakes?” she said. “I haven’t even had a chance to comb my hair yet.”

“We have a serious problem,” the voice said. It was a young graduate, recently out of the program. She showed great promise – Pillar was her name – but she tended to see fires where there were only matches.

“I’m sure it can wait a couple minutes while I get something to eat,” Mara said, flicking her hand at the bathroom sensors to get the lights on.

“Someone hacked the main computer,” Pillar burst in. Mara paused for a moment, frowning.

“That’s impossible,” she said. “I’ve seen it before. Someone creates a virus that makes us think we’ve been hacked when in reality they are waiting for our panicked response to steal the passwords while we’re searching for the program.”

“Hercules is here and he says it isn’t that and that someone has really hacked the system and… locked us out,” Pillar said in a rush. Mara frowned and smacked her mirror with her brush. A round, frowning face appeared in the right corner. Pillar was not a beauty by any stretch of the imagination but she had a pleasant, concerned air about her, like one who was constantly worried. She seemed to be in her element at the moment.

“Explain this to me,” Mara said, leaning forward. “Show me the data.”

The mirror glowed blue for a moment and text scrolled down before her eyes. As she read over it, Pillar began to speak. “We were doing the last-minute scans of the system before the next shift when Hercules noticed a slight discrepancy. There was a single digit out of place – I have no idea how he caught it – but when he followed along under an invisible user, the hacker got in and blocked him out immediately. He managed to sneak in after and has been trailing the hacker’s activities. He’s been at it for a good hour now and he’s starting to look really worried.”

“Why did it take so long to call me?” Mara said, frowning. She couldn’t see the discrepancy but if Hercules had tracked down a hacker – a good one – then she trusted his instincts. “Why wasn’t I notified immediately?”

“He said you need rest after the work you’ve been doing lately. He thought he could handle it on his own but the hacker has managed to infiltrate the planet’s power reserves and has started warming up the servers. We have no idea what they plan to do. It’s more dangerous than we ever anticipated.”

“All this in an hour?” Mara said incredulously. “Are we sure it isn’t a group of hackers?”

“There’s only activity from one user, although whoever they are, they’re using multiple computers and enough connections that even we can’t pinpoint where they are working from. If we could figure out where they are on the planet, we could put a stop to them quickly,” Pillar said, biting her lip.

“I know all that,” Mara said, waving her arm impatiently. “I’ll be there in a minute. Tell Hercules to wait for me.”

“I’ll try,” Pillar said anxiously as the mirror faded back to show Mara’s own angry reflection and dandelion hair. Pillar tended to be concrete with her promises. To “try” with Hercules meant that it wouldn’t happen. She’d better hurry up.

...

Mara sat in front of her computer screens with her head in her fists, a headache pounding behind her ears. Pillar had misled her: it had only taken the hacker ten minutes to hack into Mercury main computer system – the computer that ran the entire planet. It was only forty-eight minutes later that Hercules, the most skilled computer technician they had and only on a whim, discovered an odd calculation. It was after another two hours that he found enough evidence of a hacker to trace the line back to the source, at which point he realizes just how skilled their opponent was. It was four hours later that the entire computer system was under the hacker’s control. Mara banged her head, over and over, against her knuckles.

The main computer controlled the life support of the planet. The hacker could turn off all the lights, causing innumerable accidents and deaths. The hacker could turn off the water purifying machines on the fifth level. The hacker could turn off the oxygen. She shuddered, banging her head harder against her fists. When this didn’t seem to be enough, she moved her arms and banged her head on the desk.

“We don’t know that he’s dangerous,” Hercules said beside her, typing away with a mostly pleasant expression on his face. He usually smiled when he typed, speaking to two or three people at once. Now, his entire attention was focused on the screen. His long brown bangs kept getting in his eyes as he typed but he ignored them, keeping his fingers flying. His body suit wasn’t the Mercurian blue that peppered the planet but the brilliant green of his home planet. “All we know is that he’s good. But maybe we can corner him.”

“Don’t give me any false hope,” Mara groaned. “I’ve never seen such a good hacker. I can’t even log in.”

“I was already in when the hacker entered; otherwise I’d be out too,” Hercules said, flicking his eyes briefly to her and then away. “Don’t feel guilty; there was nothing you could do.”

Mara leaned closer and rested her head against his shoulder, nuzzling him despite the armor. She pitched her voice deeper so that no one would hear her words. “If the hacker wanted to kill us all, he could,” Mara whispered.

“I’m not going to let that happen, little sister,” Hercules said with a grin. He bumped her head with his, mixing her blue hair with his brown. “I would be in trouble then, wouldn’t I? Anyway, we have no idea what he wants. At the very least, maybe we can get him to talk to us about what he wants.”

“I hope you’re right,” Mara said, ducking her face into his shoulder and clenching her eyes. He spared his hand for a moment to dig rough fingers into her hair, messing it all up, before putting it back on a separate keyboard. A hologram materialized in the center of the room. Everyone else leapt to their feet and immediately bowed when the symbol of the Mercurian Royal Family came over the available screens.

“Mara,” the Queen said in her quiet, collected tone. Mara looked up and half-glared at her. Half the planet could have lost life support and she would be just as calm then as she was now. “What is the status update?”

“We’ve lost more control,” Mara said, struggling to sit up. “Hercules is the only user still online and even he’s having trouble keeping up. If this hacker isn’t friendly-,”

“Are we certain that no one on the planet could have done this?” the Queen interrupted smoothly. _No need for melodramatics,_ she was saying. _Please remain focused on the facts._

“We have traced every single user on the database, including recently deceased and uneducated variants. We have found no one coming close to anything like this person.” She paused, frowning. “You said on this planet… do you think we’re being attacked from somewhere else?”

“We have already proven that Mercurians are not the only adept race with highly skilled technicians, haven’t we?” the Queen said without looking at Hercules. Still, his fingers slowed down for a moment. “I’m sure there are some who would be more than happy to infiltrate our systems.”

“I can assure you that no one on Jupiter has any sort of talent for this kind of work, so if you’re looking for a scapegoat, I’m afraid I’m just not good enough to be yours,” Hercules said, forcing a grin. His green eyes narrowed like a cat and he looked about ready to fight his way out of the control room when his screen suddenly flashed blue. He typed in a few more words and then blinked. “Huh. The hacker wants to talk.”

“He does?” Mara and the Queen said, coming up behind him. Mara glared at the hologram but it flickered and shifted away from her, focused on the screen.

“Yeah, he just sent me a message,” Hercules said, peering at the screen. “ **Please forgive my rudeness, I had no idea that anyone was following me.** Who the hell is this guy?” Hercules said, curling his lips back into an angry smile. “ **I apologize for my intrusion into your computers. Unfortunately, I have no choice in the matter, as there is no computer large enough and sophisticated enough for the task I require from it. Do not worry, I will not damage your machines in any way. I simply need the extra space to store the energy. Please do not interfere anymore, it is distracting.** ” He sat back, curving his broad back into a slouch. “Distracting? I’m distracting?”

“Is that all it says?” the Queen demanded, although she could see for herself on his screen. Hercules ignored her and began to type a response.

“ **I have no intention of getting out of your way,** ” Mara read as he typed. “ **These are not computers for the public. Our planet survives on the continued use of these systems. It is your intrusion that has disturbed our normal operations.** ”

Before he had finished typing, a response popped up immediately. “ **This planet is under my protection, what?” he stopped, frowning as the message continued. “This planet is under my protection. I am offering you a courtesy in the way of this message so as not to create a panic but I assure you that I have every right to use these resources. I will lock you out of the system if you force me to. I am sorry. There are lives at stake and little time to discuss the reasons why.** ” His eyes widened and he banged his hands on the keyboard. “Shit!”

“What?” Mara said, jumping back.

“The little bastard locked me out of the system,” Hercules said, sitting back hard. “I’ve never… no one’s ever locked me out before except for-,” he froze, eyes immediately going up to the Queen and then quickly away. “Impossible, must be someone else.”

“Is there no way to enter the system?” the Queen whispered, resolutely ignoring Hercules and his slouched posture. “No backdoor?”

“None,” Hercules muttered. “I was basically using the sewers to get in. We’re completely blocked.”

“Is there anyone we can contact?” Mara said.

“ _No,_ ” the Queen said. She patted the bun at the base of her neck, as if saying such a word in a firm tone would mess up her hair. “We shall keep this matter private. We shall find a way to rectify this unfortunate oversight in our security.”

The screen fizzled again and a new image appeared. A girl sat in a poorly lit room with computer monitors all around. Her head was tilted out of the way and then when it suddenly came into view, Mara’s heart stopped. At first, the haze of computer lights made her appear to glow in the darkness, but then her features came into sharper focus. Delicate round face, bright blue eyes and gentle blue hair with a gleaming tiara at her forehead, all directed at the screen in front of her.

“We’re online,” the girl said, her voice distracted. She typed for a few moments in silence and then turned away again, speaking softly to someone else in the room before turning back to the screen. “Sailor Mars, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” another voice came over the feed. A moment later, a new window popped open alongside the first showing a cluster of trees and a woman. Her long black hair and pale legs were the only visible parts of her until her face came right in front of the screen, scowling. Her lovely red eyes held annoyance as she fiddled with the camera for a moment and then left it alone. “I’ve set up the camera and focused on the East. Do you need me to adjusted anything?” She moved out of the way to show the trees and rocks behind her.

“No, that should be sufficient. Did you receive my diagrams?” the hacker said, typing away. She swept back her blue hair with one finger, using the same hand to click her earring. “We don’t have much time. I’ve logged onto the main computer and I’m threading our feeds together. You’re the first one I’ve contacted.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ve got everything,” Sailor Mars said. “You’d better make sure the others can hear you too, Mercury.” The screen dimmed a little and another one appeared. Instead of an image, static snow covered the screen.

“Sailor Jupiter, can you hear me?” Sailor Mercury said. She tapped the screen – from where Mara sat, it looked as if she were pointing directly at her – and then typed something. The image cleared and a girl appeared. Just behind her, the ocean roared and crashed against the cliff wall. The bodies of defeated youma lay in piles everywhere but the girl merely rubbed the sweat off her brow as if it were too hot to stand there waiting.

“I can hear you, Mercury,” Jupiter said, her voice thundering through the feed. Hercules stopped breathing, his fingers shaking. “I’ve managed to fight off the more aggressive youma but I won’t be able to do so for long. Are we almost ready?” The girl cracked her knuckles and glared at the sky. A dark cloud passed before the sun and left half of the girl in shadow and half in blinding light.

“We’re only waiting on Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon,” Mercury said, dragging her fingers across the screen as she used her other hand to type. “I haven’t received confirmation of their positions yet. Do you have the diagrams I sent you?”

“Yes, we have them,” another fuzzy face appeared, although this one was literally fuzzy. The cat’s white face had long whiskers and a crescent-shaped moon symbol on its forehead. But it was that unmistakable masculine voice that Mara remembered.

“Ah! I know you!” she said. Everyone on the screens immediately perked up as her voice echoed back to her. But she’d thought… were the microphones on? Could they hear her? Mara covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide.

“You know Artemis?” Sailor Mercury said. A moment later, a new window popped up, this one of everyone in the control room. Mara gasped, face turning all red. How had she? When did she? Now the hacker could see everyone! “Who are you?” Sailor Mercury said.

“The better question is, who are you?” the Queen spat, straightening to her full height and lifting her chin. “How dare you… you false creature-“ she practically spit out the words, “you dare impersonate-,”

“Mercury?” Hercules whispered. Sailor Mercury blinked and squinted at the screen for a moment. “Mercury,” he said even softer now. “Mercury, is that you?”

“Have we met?” she said blankly. The color drained from Mara’s face. Hercules just stared at the screen, his fingers going limp. They stared at each other for a long moment, Mercury’s expression becoming more confused by the minute. A second later, two new screens flashed quickly into view.

“Sorry we took so long,” a new voice said breathlessly. There was a flash of blonde hair and long legs, a red ribbon, a cluster of skyscrapers in the distance. “The concentration of youma is stronger here. We’ve got the cameras positioned and the diagrams all ready to go. Are you ready on your end, Mercury? Did you hack into the computer yet?”

“As if she’d have a problem,” Mars said with a snort.

“Maybe if we tied one hand behind her back she could give us time to finish our ends first,” Jupiter chuckled.

“Sailor Venus, Sailor Moon,” Mercury said experimentally.

“I’m here,” a new voice said. The video remained fuzzy and indecipherable, but the audio seemed to work. “We’re ready.” In every single video, a Sailor Senshi peered into the camera with various expressions – anticipation, worry, anxiety, and determination. All so similar, all so different.

“Then we are ready to proceed,” Mercury said. “Uranus, Neptune, how is it going over there?”

A new image materialized, this one of a different scene. “We have a problem,” a tall Senshi said, her angry face coming over the camera. White-blonde hair and angry eyes, pinched at the brows, invaded the screen. The background was nearly completely enveloped by this face. “Chibi Usa refuses to go through with it.”

“What?” all the voices chorused at once. “What’s wrong?” “Did something happen?” “Is she okay?” “Where is she?”

“She’s worried her little youma friends will get vaporized,” Uranus said, rolling her eyes.

“Youma friends?” “What are you talking about?” “Is Chibi Usa in danger?” “Chibi Usa!”

“We can’t proceed until she stops complaining about them,” Uranus said, smacking her hand down on the consol. “So hurry up and tell her to get rid of them, Sailor Moon! You’re the only one she’s going to listen to.”

“Chibi Usa?” Sailor Moon’s voice came over the screen. Her video was filled with static and no clear image came through, but her voice plainly spoke of worry and tenderness. “What’s going on?”

“Sailor Moon, I can’t. They’ll be destroyed if we do this,” Chibi Usa’s voice said, coming out high-pitched and terrified. A flash of pink somewhere in the video was immediately covered up by static snow. The voice went in and out of focus, making her voice hard to understand. “Please, Sailor Moon! I promised them that nothing would happen because they haven’t tried to hurt anyone and I know that I shouldn’t trust them but this is the most horrible way to kill them. Please! I can’t just let them die!”

“Is there anything we can do?” Sailor Moon said. When no one said anything for a moment, an angry sigh came over the feed. “Sailor Saturn, take them to a safe place. I don’t care where, just take them.”

“What? But Sailor Moon!” Sailor Saturn said, voice rising up sharply.

“Do as I say, we don’t have time to argue. Get them to a safe place. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune can protect Chibi Usa,” Sailor Moon said firmly.

“But…” Sailor Saturn began and then stopped. The atmosphere shifted somewhat and then a loud scraping noise followed the pulse of an energy attack. “As you wish.” Whatever she did next, they couldn’t see on the screen but Sailor Uranus looked less tense after it was done.

“That was a mistake, Sailor Moon,” Sailor Uranus said. “Chibi Usa may trust those youma but you know very well how dangerous having a youma so close can be. Give Saturn the order to kill them.”

“Sailor Moon, don’t!” Chibi Usa gasped.

“Just do it quickly, it’ll be less painful later if you do it now,” Uranus said, talking over Chibi Usa.

“We don’t have time to fight,” Sailor Moon said calmly. Both Chibi Usa and Uranus tried to argue but Sailor Moon spoke over them. “Mercury, we’re ready to go. Let’s get started.”

“Understood,” Sailor Mercury said. The screens went dim for a moment and Sailor Mercury’s image vanished. Hercules reached out but his fingers crashed into the monitor, nearly breaking through it. He kept his fingers against the surface, running his fingers over the spot where her face had been.

“Come back,” he whispered softly. He struggled to control his facial muscles but it didn’t help. His lips curled down and his eyes… he looked as if that one image of Sailor Mercury would be the last one he’d ever see. Mara kept her face averted from that too-honest expression. She stuffed her hands under her thighs and leaned her forehead against the desk, counting slowly to a hundred. Whatever was coming, Mara had a feeling that it would be bigger than any of them could handle. With the kind of control over the Mercury Planet Computer that Sailor Mercury (or whoever she was) had, she could easily launch an attack that would leave Mercury defenseless and vulnerable. And Hercules had just lost his senses, faced with an image of a past he fought every day never to experience again. Would she be strong enough now to salvage what was left of her planet once the dust settled?

...

Chibi Usa grimaced and stepped away from the computers as Saturn and Mercury debated with each other over the finer points of their plan. She had no idea what they were talking about and frankly, she didn’t care. Someone would tell her what to do eventually and until then, she had more pressing matters to worry about.

“So, _Small Lady,_ ” Bran hissed, eyes flashing, “care to come clean?”

“Oh please,” Chibi Usa snapped. “If I’d told you who I really was from the beginning, you would have eaten me for lunch! Don’t even deny it! You and all those… stupid youma attacking the palace. Don’t pretend you just happened to waltz along and stumbled into an attack.”

Bran opened and closed his mouth, jutting his chin out as he crossed his arms over his chest. “True,” he grunted. “But I hardly think that would have been the worst thing to mention. You were a lot quicker at explaining the time travel thing anyway.” He paused. “By the way, who was that lady you were talking to a second ago?”

“Sailor Pluto is the guardian to the door of time,” Chibi Usa said, mirroring Bran’s defensive posture and looking at him from the corner of her eyes. “She’s also my friend. I just did the stupidest possible thing I could have to her.”

“She didn’t look mad,” Bran said, his voice softening a little.

“It doesn’t change the fact that I put everyone I love in the worst danger,” Chibi Usa said, her shoulders tense. She sighed and deflated, rubbing the heel of her palm against her eye. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I just… if I messed up the future because I was so stupid-,”

“You didn’t,” Bran said. When Chibi Usa stared at him incredulously, he rolled his eyes. “I don’t know much about this time travel stuff, but the way I’ve been led to understand it, time can’t be altered like that. If you’d destroyed the future, wouldn’t we have disappeared? So we came back into the past to do exactly what you just did.”

“I’ve disappeared once before because of something I did,” Chibi Usa said.

“Really?” Bran said, eyes widening in surprise. “Er, never mind then.”

“Both of us would have already disappeared if it couldn’t be resolved,” Chibi Usa said thoughtfully. “So I guess for now, you’re right. We didn’t mess up the future in an irreversible way.”

“Right,” Bran said, clapping his hands together. “So what next? I know your Senshi have some wacky plan to get rid of my fellow brethren but what are we supposed to do in the meantime? I’m not exactly welcome around here.” He glanced over at Gaea, who as it turned out was some sort of royalty, and the man standing directly beside her. They both looked entirely too familiar at the moment but Chibi Usa couldn’t place where she had seen them before, never mind it was impossible because she was from such a distant future.

“I’m not sure,” Chibi Usa admitted, exhaling sharply. “I’ve managed to screw everything up so well, I’m almost scared to do anything.”

“You can’t make things much worse,” Bran said.

“Oh please,” Chibi Usa said with a laugh. “Give me a few more minutes and I’m sure I could figure out a way.”

They settled uneasily against the wall, watching Saturn argue with Uranus and Neptune about who would take the first patrols and what to do with their charges. It would have been hard if all they’d had to do was defend themselves. With the growing number of human survivors that were sneaking into the room in the hopes of being protected, the Senshi were looking a little strained. Chibi Usa was half tempted to transform into Sailor Chibi Moon just to be useful but Pluto had nixed the idea when Chibi Usa had hinted at it.

Chibi Usa closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She’d been in such a rush to get here, to warn Pluto and the others, that she was now left with nothing to do. She hated the waiting more than anything else.

“Don’t be mad,” Bran said suddenly. Chibi Usa’s eyes popped open and she immediately turned to him. Bran’s eyes were fixed on a spot behind her. “I said don’t be mad.”

“What shouldn’t I be mad about?” Chibi Usa said, twisting around to see what he was looking at. Bran’s fingers clamped down on her shoulders and turned her back to face him, lowering his head so that they were staring into each other’s eyes. Chibi Usa stopped breathing, eyes widening as she stared at him.

“Listen to me for a second before you freak out,” Bran said slowly. “Now, I haven’t known you for very long, but I get the feeling that you panic easily. So before you do, let me first warn you that there are a couple of youma standing by the door.”

“What-!” Chibi Usa said, trying to wrench her arm out of his grasp but his fingers were like steel banda.

“And,” Bran cut her off quickly, tightening his fingers around her shoulders, “I do not want you screaming about it to your Senshi and getting them killed. Hence why I am warning you ahead of time. The two youma standing by the door staring at us right now are my friends. Can I let them come inside without the Senshi blasting them?”

Chibi Usa drew back from Bran and tilted her head back to look at the door. At first she couldn’t see them, what with the heavy fire damage all along the far wall and various military personnel dashing back and forth in front of them. The military had been doing that a lot ever since Chibi Usa had gotten there. It only took her another second to see what Bran had meant.

The first one to draw her attention was a little white clown face with a blue tear mark under his eye. He didn’t look much older than seven or eight years old, although that didn’t mean anything, and he was staring at Bran as if he expected Bran to explode at any moment. His strange eyes flickered briefly over Chibi Usa, assessing her fighting aura. The other face was much more sinister with flickering red eyes and a blue face that was completely focused on her.

“Your friends?” Chibi Usa said slowly.

“Yeah,” Bran said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “At least Jukai is. He’s just a kid who gets caught up in what other people are doing. He shouldn’t even be here right now.” When Chibi Usa stared at him blankly, he rolled his eyes. “Jukai is the clown youma.”

“Oh,” Chibi Usa said, turning back to stare at them. They jerked back as if surprised she could see them.

“The other is Chixota,” Bran said, the heat in his voice increasing. “I wouldn’t mind too much if your youma dusted him, to be perfectly frank, but my father would kill me for letting either of them get hurt. So can I call them over without having to worry?”

“Are they dangerous?” Chibi Usa said. She kept edging closer to Bran, her eyes never straying from – what was his name? Chixota? Youma always had the weirdest names – and the little patch of shadows they were cowering in. It struck her later how ironic it was that she felt safer with a youma than with the military running all around her.

“Jukai’s harmless,” Bran said with a snort. “He’s just a kid. What do you expect him to do? Anyway, he practically hero-worships me. If I say so, he won’t attack anyone,” Bran said, his eyes narrowing a little. “Chixota, on the other hand…”

“I want to be able to promise they’ll be okay,” Chibi Usa said after a moment of deliberation, her teeth worrying the soft skin of her lips. “But if they attack anyone in this room that hasn’t tried to do something to them first, I’ll dust them myself.”

“That sounds fair,” Bran said, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I will,” Chibi Usa insisted, her face turning the same color pink as her hair. “I can dust youma without help from anyone.”

“I believe you,” Bran said, his smile widening in that way that meant, No, I don’t believe you. Stupid human. He was already edging towards the wall, keeping himself relaxed as he made his way to his friends. One of the youma, the clown one, was grinning broadly at their approach and even waved. The other, darker one had his eyes fixated on Chibi Usa as if he was considering how best to deep fry her.

“They have to swear not to hurt anyone,” Chibi Usa said, grabbing Bran’s arm before he could go much further. He cast an irritated glare over his shoulder but she pulled harder on his arm, forcing him to stop moving. “I mean it. There are enough problems right now without adding more.”

“Fine,” Bran said exasperatedly. “God. You’re so annoying.” He ran a hand through his blue hair and glared at her again. Chibi Usa jutted out her chin and tried to look as menacing as possible. He finally rolled his eyes and yanked his arm away from her. “Chixota’s not going to like this much.”

They wandered to the door and ducked into it and away from the buzz of the control room. Chibi Usa had a split second to wonder if this was a good idea before the scary youma, Chixota, grabbed her shoulders and yanked her firmly into his chest. She started to scream but he covered her mouth quickly, his eyes flicking up to Bran.

“Took you long enough,” he said in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Chibi Usa struggled uselessly against his chest, overwhelmed by the motor oil and ash smell that clung to his hands. The clown youma Jukai chortled and bounced in place.

“That was really amazing, Bran! And with all those Senshi around too,” he said in an unmistakably child-like voice. When Chibi Usa managed to yank her head away for a brief moment, she saw that the face turned towards Bran was steeped in admiration and awe. Chixota roughly shoved her back against his chest, his strong hands wrapping around her forearms.

“Let’s get out of here,” Chixota said, hauling her feet off the ground.

“Put her down,” Bran said, rolling his eyes. “She wasn’t going to run away.” When Chixota just stared at him incredulously, Bran sighed and yanked Chibi Usa away from him. In the next instant, he had an arm around her shoulders and a relaxed stance that pressed his hip against her side. Chibi Usa, momentarily off balance, wrapped her arm around his waist to steady herself.

“Have you lost your mind?” Chixota said calmly. Jukai, also intent on whatever answer Bran would give, had levitated a few feet off the ground and circled them overhead.

“Stop that before the Senshi notice,” Bran hissed. When Jukai pouted and touched down on the ground again, Bran grimaced. “Much as the thought of getting out of here appeals to me, we won’t get far. The Senshi are planning some sort of planetary exorcism. We’re much better off staying close then trying to escape before it all happens.”

“Why do they even trust you?” Chixota said, eyeing Chibi Usa. She’d withdrawn against Bran’s side, keeping her eyes firmly on the ground. “Is it because the girl trusts you? I thought they had more sense than to trust a crazy brat.”

“Hey,” Chibi Usa growled, snapping her gaze up to glare at him. “I’m not a crazy brat!”

“Usa,” Bran said, sighing in that way that Chibi Usa was becoming accustomed to. The don’t’-overreact-God-you’re-so-melodramatic sigh that made her fingers curl into fists at her sides. She glared at him and stabbed a finger into his chest, advancing on him.

“I came over and your friend tried to kidnap me. I think that counts as threatening me,” Chibi Usa hissed. The fear curdled in her stomach, making her dizzy as she struggled to look angry when she just wanted to run. What made her think that this was a good idea? Trusting a youma… she really had to be stupid. Chixota drifted closer, his dark form invading her vision.

“Yeah? What are you going to do about it?” Chixota said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. Bran was certainly large, at least in terms of his height and the broadness of his shoulders, but Chixota was on an entirely different level. The muscles on his arms and shoulders looked as if they were ready to pop out of his skin and that motor oil smell got stronger the more she was around him. Chibi Usa swallowed and jutted out her chin, shifting her weight to lean towards him with her finger extended.

“I can just as easily get one of the Senshi here,” she warned. “I’m being more than nice in offering to protect you – all of you -,” her gaze drifted to Jukai and then briefly to Bran before returning to Chixota, “but you’re threatening me.”

“She talks too much,” Jukai whined. Chixota reached for her, his eyebrows arched in a bored manner. Chibi Usa stiffened and flinched, waiting for claws to descend on her and… do nothing? In the next moment, a long, cold blade rested against the side of Chixota’s neck. He jerked back, stunned by the sudden weapon, but Saturn moved into the room with darkness all around her, eyes flashing violet with suppressed rage. Chibi Usa didn’t have to turn around to feel the power radiating at her back and she shivered when she felt Saturn’s cold breath on the back of her neck.

“I told you not to go anywhere with the youma,” Saturn said tonelessly, urging Chibi Usa to look back at her. Saturn’s lovely, sweet face stared at Chixota expressionlessly, her weapon poised for attack. She still had a little plaster in her hair from when a particularly persistent youma had descended into the operation room from the ceiling. They’d lost the lights on that entire side of the room.

“Saturn,” Chibi Usa said, her eyes widening a little as she carefully turned her body to face her friend. Even though she looked relaxed and maybe even a little bored, there was a fine sheen of power radiating off her scythe. Jukai only had to float a little too close and they would be covered in dust. Chibi Usa swallowed nervously. “How did you… wait, don’t hurt them!”

“Why?” Saturn’s eyes flashed over to her and instead of the anger Chibi Usa dreaded, there was only cold curiosity. Bran shifted away from Chibi Usa and froze when Saturn turned her scythe to face him. He didn’t move again after that. “You have spent your entire life protected from their kind. Why are they different?”

Chibi Usa opened and then closed her mouth. Whatever answer she had been about to give, it vanished right from her mind before she could say it. Hotaru was always so lenient with Chibi Usa, always so forgiving of every enormous blunder she ever made. Even though she didn’t look mad, Saturn obviously disapproved. The disappointment and confusion made Chibi Usa wish she could crawl out of her skin. All the while, Saturn waited patiently for a response, her arm perfectly still and her stance frozen in combat. She could have stayed like that forever, it seemed, with her legs slightly parted and that frozen expression on her face.

“I just don’t want them to die like this,” Chibi Usa finally said, shrugging helplessly. “They aren’t hurting anyone… anymore.” She paused when Chixota glared at her. “It just seems too cruel to kill them over simply existing. I don’t want to be like them.”

“Hey,” Bran muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Saturn ignored him, her eyes focused on Chibi Usa’s. Chibi Usa blushed but remained still, feeling as if she were being X-rayed for a lie. It wasn’t fair to make this sort of decision, especially during a crisis. They had a lot more important things to worry about right now then three dangerous youma floating around inside their main base. Finally, Saturn’s stance relaxed and she pulled her scythe behind her back, tilting her head in the perfect imitation of innocence.

“I really wish you wouldn’t do this, Chibi Usa,” Saturn said softly. “But I will do whatever you desire.” She hesitated, shifting. “Do I have permission to dust them should they decide to wear out their truce?”

“I’ll help you dust them,” Chibi Usa assured her, smiling weakly. Chixota snorted, obviously unimpressed with the threat of Chibi Usa’s ability to dust him. Saturn’s expression brightened.

“Good,” she said. “You need to come back inside. We’re almost prepared and I need to fill you in on the plan. You’re going to have to use the crystal, I’m afraid.”

“I will?” Chibi Usa said, eyes widening as she trailed Saturn out of the dark room. Bran followed after her but the others came more slowly. She resolutely didn’t look behind her, keeping her focus on Saturn’s back. “Isn’t that very dangerous?”

“It is,” Saturn said grimly. “But it may be our only chance.”

...

“Are you ready?” Tuxedo Mask asked, gripping his cane tightly in case any more youmas attacked. He’d set up a perimeter around Sailor Moon, who knelt on the ground with her hands clasped in prayer. The Silver Crystal glowed in her locket, pulsing with her increased heartbeat.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave you alone like this,” Sailor Moon said, her voice vibrating with power as wave upon wave of energy collected around Sailor Moon’s skin like a fine sheen of sweat. She began to glow, her long blonde hair twisting and curling in the wind.

“Don’t spend a single moment worrying about me, I can take care of myself,” Tuxedo Mask scolded. “I’m more worried about you using the Crystal. Just concentrate on using as little energy as you can and stop if you feel it getting out of control. I can handle it if we’re attacked.”

“This may be our only chance,” Sailor Moon said, her voice going deeper and slower. She lowered her hands to her sides and leaned back a little, tilting her head so that her face was turned towards the sky. The Silver Crystal opened with a sharp crack and formed into a rose. Sailor Moon’s hands came up on either side of it, lifting it from her chest and into the air before her, eyes tightly clenched as she strained upward. The Crystal glowed brighter, still pulsing with every beat of her heart.

“I don’t care,” Tuxedo Mask said, unconsciously relaxing as he watched her change from the woman he loved into a throbbing pillar of endless energy. It always took his breath away to see her handle the Crystal like this. He had never seen her set up the Crystal this way before, since she always used it as a last resort the few times she’d used it at all. The Senshi had never consciously decided to use it before. “I just want you to be careful. Don’t overdo it – and remember to let Mercury help you channel the power through her planet. Don’t think you have to do it all yourself.”

“I won’t,” Sailor Moon said, her voice echoing now in the stillness. A youma came up behind Tuxedo Mask but he didn’t even need to turn around. The youma screeched once and abruptly cut off as the power radiating off the Silver Crystal purified it instantly. Tuxedo Mask had just enough time to watch the dust fade away.

“And let Chibi Usa help,” Tuxedo Mask said, the panic rising up unbidden. He clenched his hands into fists to keep from reaching out for her. “Don’t do it all on your own.”

“I won’t,” Sailor Moon whispered. “I love you Mamo-chan.”

“I love you too,” Tuxedo Mask whispered, clenching his jaw. This was going to be fine. This was not the end. All he had to do was keep believing that and everything would be fine in the end.


	15. Song of the Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chibi Usa exhaled softly and smiled at the monitor. Saturn had only just teleported with Bran and his two friends, setting Chibi Usa’s mind at ease. Ever since she’d come to fully understand the Plan, she’d felt a gnawing dread for what she knew would happen to Bran. She wasn’t cold enough to say that she wished Bran’s friends were dead but she didn’t know them at all and Chixota had caused such a spectacular first impression that she wouldn’t have minded too much if they were purified in the light of the Silver Crystal. But Bran… despite acting all tough and essentially outing himself as someone who she couldn’t trust, he’d looked increasingly worried the more that Mercury had spoken. Chibi Usa knew that Bran hadn’t understood the entire plan but he had figured out that Chibi Usa had somehow become the cornerstone of the whole thing.

Chibi Usa exhaled softly and smiled at the monitor. Saturn had only just teleported with Bran and his two friends, setting Chibi Usa’s mind at ease. Ever since she’d come to fully understand the Plan, she’d felt a gnawing dread for what she knew would happen to Bran. She wasn’t cold enough to say that she wished Bran’s friends were dead but she didn’t know them at all and Chixota had caused such a spectacular first impression that she wouldn’t have minded too much if they were purified in the light of the Silver Crystal. But Bran… despite acting all tough and essentially outing himself as someone who she couldn’t trust, he’d looked increasingly worried the more that Mercury had spoken. Chibi Usa knew that Bran hadn’t understood the entire plan but he had figured out that Chibi Usa had somehow become the cornerstone of the whole thing.

“You don’t have to do this,” he’d said, taking her aside and whispering into her ear. “The Senshi can handle this without you. It isn’t right for them to pressure you into helping them.”

“They can’t do this without me,” Chibi Usa whispered back, a little stunned that he even cared. “The plan won’t work without me and we’re running out of options. A lot of innocent people are in danger right now and it’s our job to protect them.”

“But you’re not a Senshi,” Bran said, his voice rising to a louder whisper so that it stung her ear. She winced and glared at him.

“Yes I am,” she said firmly. He’d grown quiet after that and communicated through grunts and glares. He hadn’t even said anything when Uranus threatened to kill him just so they could execute the plan without Chibi Usa worrying about him. Even though Hotaru could have exterminated them the second they were out of her sight, Bran still didn’t speak, just looked weary but resigned. Whatever he was thinking, it was too private to bring up surrounded by so many people and really, Chibi Usa had just met him. It was strange to think that so little time had transpired since she first laid eyes on him in the Time tunnel but really, they’d only known each other for about five hours. It seemed like so much longer…

And wasn’t it just last night that she’d been in Crystal Tokyo all dressed up and glamorous with the girls? And Helios…

Her face drained of color as Uranus and Neptune made the last minute adjustments to the plan now that Saturn was no longer there. What was it that Helios had said, something about meeting her grandparents? And searching for him… was she supposed to do that now? Did this mean that Helios knew what was going to happen to her now? Had he already lived whatever was in store for her? A headache developed between her eyebrows and Chibi Usa had to stop thinking about it. Time travel was so hard to understand.

The thing was, she _had_ met her grandparents before. Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino were no longer alive in Crystal Tokyo but she’d certainly met them in the past, and she’d met her Uncle Shingo, of course. Mamoru’s parents had died in a car crash when he was younger so that was certainly out of the question. Had Helios meant Mamoru's parents?

It didn't really matter in the end; she couldn't focus on the intricacies and complexities of time travel right then. At the moment, what she really needed to concentrate on was the Silver Crystal and somehow getting it to cooperate the way that Mercury thought it could. Sailor Moon hadn't even hesitated in trying out the plan, despite never having used the Silver Crystal like this before. She'd simply taken it as a possibility and let the crystal do as it pleased. Chibi Usa wished she could feel as comfortable and confident letting the crystal figure it all out for her. She'd never been much of a planner but letting the crystal have free range with her energy felt a little reckless. Then again, she'd always had a lot of trouble handling the power of the crystal. When it really came down to a life or death situation, Chibi Usa could generally pull through and get the crystal to use its energy the way she wanted it to but she hadn't yet figured out how to make it do that consistently. Hopefully today would be different.

She took a deep breath and moved into the center of the room where Uranus and Neptune had set up a small perimeter for her. She twisted her fingers under the collar of her shirt and searched for the Silver Crystal when the tall woman – there was something so familiar about her but Chibi Usa just couldn’t put her finger on what it was – came closer and knelt in front of her. She was tall enough that even this movement still allowed her to tower overhead.

Up close, Chibi Usa realized with a sudden sharp pang why the woman looked so familiar. Although Neo Queen Serenity was a great deal shorter, her face softer and kinder, her power much thicker, and her joy more apparent, there was no denying the resemblance between Chibi Usa’s mother and this strange being. Up until that point, Chibi Usa had been too preoccupied by Bran’s presence to really notice her. Looking at her now, she felt a little ridiculous that she hadn’t noticed it before.

“My name is Night,” the woman said in a soft, careful voice. When Chibi Usa flinched, she fluttered her hands towards her and then dropped them into her lap, peering at her curiously. “The Senshi say that you have the Silver Crystal.”

“Um,” Chibi Usa said, gawking at her. Her previous thought about Helios came sailing back into her head. It served only to confuse her. Grandparents? Surely… he couldn’t have meant… “Who are you?”

“I am the Queen of the Moon Kingdom, Silver Millennium,” Night said, frowning. “You should know that, if you have the crystal.” She paused and chose her words carefully. “I had no idea that you would remember. I thought that with the spell, you would be living a normal human life. I am sorry that you had to come here. If I could, I would never force you to go through any of this.”

“What are you talking about?” Chibi Usa said, struggling to keep up with the conversation. The strange woman, Night, stopped talking and stared at her curiously.

“You… are Serenity… aren’t you?” the woman said, her brows knitting in confusion. Somewhere in the background, an alarm had gone off and three men in charred uniforms rushed out to investigate it. Uranus had set up the last of the diagrams on the screen to finish the plan. The lights flickered overhead.

“I think you have me confused with my mother,” Chibi Usa said at last. “I’m not from here. I’m from the future.”

“Sailor Pluto would never be so foolish as to allow it,” Night said without hesitation. “She knows the rules of time travel. Not even she with all her otherworldly power would be stupid enough to tamper with the course of time. She knows better than to let-,”

“I know,” Chibi Usa interrupted, her face heating up. Sailor Pluto wasn’t there to defend herself but Chibi Usa would be damned if anyone spoke poorly of her friend when she wasn’t there. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. The palace was attacked and I was too young to understand the consequences of my actions. I’m from a thousand years in the future. Neo Queen Serenity is my mother.”

“That is impossible,” Night said, wringing her hands in her lap. Chibi Usa stared into her face, trying to force her to believe what she was saying. “You don’t look like her at all.”

“I have a lot of my dad in me,” Chibi Usa said, curling her lip back. When Night just stared at her, Chibi Usa backpedaled like mad. “That is, er, my dad probably does, because obviously if you can’t see my mother in me, then who else would you be looking at? Because see, that’s how these things work! You know, half and half, one part your mother, the other part your father, and-,”

“What is your father’s name?” Night interrupted.

“Oh you know I can’t tell you that!” Chibi Usa said, truly starting to panic now as she backed away, hands up in a defensive position. “Being from the future and all, I couldn’t really reveal secrets like who my parents are or what’s going to happen. Actually, I shouldn’t have mentioned anything about it!” _Such as who my mother is. I can’t believe I have such a huge mouth,_ Chibi Usa thought as she tried to wriggle out of the conversation. To her surprise (and dismay), Gaea had come up behind her and was thus far failing miserably in her attempt to pretend she wasn’t listening.

“Is she bothering you?” Gaea asked, running a hand through her disheveled hair. She glared at Night and edged around so that she stood menacingly behind Chibi Usa. Gaea placed what she probably thought was a soothing hand on Chibi Usa’s shoulder. “I can ask one of the guards to make her leave you alone. The Senshi aren’t here to indulge her.”

“She isn’t bothering me,” Chibi Usa mumbled. “It’s not that.”

“She claims to be from the future,” Night said, a note of steel in her voice. “She claims to be my Serenity’s daughter.” Chibi Usa peeked up at Gaea. Her face had completely transformed. Instead of the weak smile or even a stunned expression, all she saw was bottomless rage. Her shoulders were raised, like the hackles on a dog, and she’d bared her teeth.

“Is that so?” she said coldly. “Well, perhaps she only said that so you would leave her alone. Anyone would lie if they saw you coming towards them with your mind already made up about something.”

“Haven’t you been listening to the Senshi at all?” Night said, arching an incredulous eyebrow. She gestured to the computer screen, which flashed blue every now and then and Mercury did some sort of complicated calculation. “They’re using the Mercury Planet Computer to channel a massive amount of energy into a coherent order. They need a power source strong enough to produce that kind of energy.”

“What does that have anything to do with you?” Gaea said, drawing a protective arm around Chibi Usa’s shoulders. Her fingers felt like claws as they tugged her sharply against Gaea’s chest.

“The only power source that would require such resources would be the Silver Crystal,” Night said, her hand automatically reaching up to rest over her heart. “The Senshi keep saying “the Crystal this” and “the Crystal that.” The only explanation is the use of the Silver Crystal. And Chibi Usa is included in the plan so either she is a Senshi herself, which is impossible since every planet has already been accounted for, or she has some connection to the Silver Crystal.”

“Um,” Chibi Usa squeaked, curling her fingers around her neck automatically. She backed away and hesitated when they blocked her way, eyes intent. Gaea reached out to grab her and then quickly withdrew her hand, fists shaking. Night’s reaction was very different. Whatever she saw on Chibi Usa’s face, it drained the tension from her body so that she slouched a little, not looking quite so tall and imposing anymore. Almost as if she were resigned to whatever Chibi Usa would say now, either to lie about it all or to finally confess the truth.

“Chibi Usa, we’re ready,” Neptune said, cutting through the tension and jerking them all back to reality. When Chibi Usa looked over at them, she realized that everything was indeed ready. The soldiers and scientists who had remained in the control room formed a loose semi-circle around Neptune and Uranus as they glowed in front of the computer screen. Neptune’s mirror gleamed silver and lovely, reflecting an intense light back into the room that had no source but itself. Uranus beckoned Chibi Usa with her sword, glaring at Night and Gaea behind her.

Chibi Usa dashed towards them and exhaled softly as she moved to stand between them. One of the video clips on the screen was already glowing brilliantly from Sailor Moon’s Silver Crystal. Chibi Usa hesitated and glanced nervously back at Gaea and Night. This would just confirm her stupid confession about the future and make everything more complicated. What if she’d said something that would lead to the destruction of the future? What if she’d irreversibly demolished her own existence?

Well, she’d just have to get to it when those unforeseen problems came up. For now, the others were counting on her to stay in control and use the Crystal to help Sailor Moon. 

“I’m ready,” Chibi Usa said, even as her heart pounded faster in her chest and her palms became sweaty. Thankfully, she wouldn’t be nervous like this for long. She unclipped the pendant on her necklace and closed her eyes as the Silver Crystal pulsed in her hand. In another moment, a pale white light surrounded her body as she focused on aligning her inner self to the power beating in her hand. In the next moment, she felt a foreign wind blow gently across her hair. The braid came undone and the familiar odangos formed on her head, her clothes slipping away as her Lunarian dress flowed loosely over her body. She clasped her hands to her chest in the form of a prayer and wished for a quick, desperate moment that she wouldn’t screw this up.

“Begin,” Mercury’s distant, distracted voice came over the intercom and Chibi Usa’s body jerked sharply forward. The Silver Crystal _yanked_ and her energy came flooding out like a lightening rod, exploding from her hands and ricocheting around the room like a wild fire hose.

The sudden surge of fire through her veins was painful and overpowering, blocking out every sound, sight, and feeling as every thought focused on that single point of energy pulsing between her hands. She wanted to scream but couldn’t remember how to breath. She wanted to cry but couldn’t feel her eyes. She wanted to die but couldn’t remember if she was alive.

After a few moments or hours or years of this agonizing torture, the energy became a touch more bearable. When Chibi Usa lifted her tear-stained face up to the gentle presence before her, she smiled through the pain. Mama was there too, suffering as she was suffering, with her gentle fingers wrapped around hers and bearing that impossible burden on her own shoulders. Chibi Usa sighed and focused on her mother’s hands, on the warmth in her steady gaze, in the soothing breeze against her face as her mother’s breath brushed her face.

A distant presence in the back of her mind glowed warmly in time with her heartbeat. Papa was there too, his hand gently pressing the small of her back, his smile against her hair as he gave her his power. Chibi Usa finally closed her eyes and rode on the power as it flowed from her, letting herself be lost in it.

...

Hercules and Mara sat huddled by their computer screen, the lights dim over the other word guardians and only the quiet hum of the air filtration system reminding them of where they were. Hercules was doubled over his knees, a mug of warm alcohol cradled in his hands as he stared at a spot on the wall. Mara kept glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, her hand automatically going out to rub his shoulder every few seconds. The computer screens cast a shadow across their faces, blurring the lines of age so that they could have been younger or older.

“Do you think it’s really her?” Mara whispered. She’d asked this question a few hours before and had received no answer. Her mother had turned off the hologram soon after she’d realized there was nothing they could do about this situation. Hercules had gone quiet and refused to move from his spot, even when the other word guardians by their respect terminals had disappeared from the room, one by one. Hercules surprised her by sitting up straight and glaring at her.

“It can’t be her,” he said calmly. Mara winced and looked at her hands, tugging helplessly at her fingernails. When she looked up again, Hercules had turned his head and stared at his computer screen.

“But what if it-,” she began again.

“I was there,” Hercules interrupted. “I saw them. I saw her. They’re all dead.”

“But what if the imposter isn’t really an imposter?” Mara said, tugging on his hand to get his attention. He refused to look at her. “What if she really is the Queen of the Silver Millennium? It does look like her. What if she is who she claims she is and all of them, every single one, was really reborn just like she-,”

“STOP IT!” he yelled, surging to his feet. Mara sat back and closed her eyes, her heart hammering in her chest. Hercules remained poised above her, panting hard enough to make the others in the room whisper to each other. He sat abruptly and exhaled in a sharp breath. Mara opened her eyes and watched him put his head in his hands. “Please… just stop. It’s not her. I know it isn’t her.”

“But… what if it is?” Mara whispered.

Hercules raised his head, his brown hair sticking to his fingers as his eyes beseeched her… for what, she couldn’t begin to say. He opened his mouth to respond but before he could, the computer screens began to blink sharply. Their heads jerked to the screen, watching as each of the video feeds that had shown nothing but blinding white for the past half hour suddenly vanished and the symbol of Mercury appeared on each screen. In the next moment, the hologram hub at the center of the room exploded. The screens bowed inward and exploded, showering the room in reinforced metal fiber. Mara screamed and covered her head just as Hercules threw himself on her, covering her as they dropped to the ground.

The floor rumbled beneath them and made a terrible cracking noise, followed by the high-pitched sonic boom of overloaded energy as the lights went out. In the next moment, the floor began to glow intensely.

“Hold on,” Hercules commanded, his eyes roving around the room wildly. “Hold on! Don’t panic!”

“Hercules,” Mara gasped as the sign of Mercury came to life on her forehead. “Your head… the sign…” he turned to her, his bright eyes glowing the same color as the sign of Jupiter on his head. That’s when they both felt it. The pull of energy from within the planet, the surge of power that they hadn’t felt in over a thousand years.

“It’s her!” Mara screamed, half elated and half terrified. “It’s really her! She’s alive!”

“It can’t be,” Hercules whispered as the world dropped out from under them.

...

Venus was exceptionally hot that year, Silvia reflected as she stood beside a pool of clear blue water in her bathing dress. The overhead dome showed a particularly violent storm with angry lightening and sheeted rain, dripping acid down through the cracks to fall gently on her hair, making her skin sparkle as she grinned. The vapors were always so good for her pours. It was truly lovely to live on this planet, to live in this eternal body, to be so gorgeous for the rest of her life.

She slipped into the water and rested the back of her head on the ledge, turning her face up to the spray of acid as it touched her lips. So… what to do today? There was no pressing business she could think of immediately. She could visit Arianna. Wasn’t she learning a new skill? Something about carpentry… poor dear, she must have been going out of her mind. She only ever picked up a new hobby when she was too bored to attend one of the operas, or dances, or attend parties. Well, that beau she’d been interested in fifty years ago had died recently, hadn’t he? Perhaps that was part of the reason. If so, then visiting with her wouldn’t be any fun at all.

She’d already done ten months of shopping in the recently opened stores she’d ordered built. The styles had been cute but nothing truly dramatic. After a thousand years, it all looked the same. And anyway, she had everything in her closet now and would have to wait another decade or so to restock and come up with something a little more exciting this time. Maybe she would decree that they had to use only the color mauve. She liked mauve.

Perhaps she could visit her brother’s memorial instead. It had been a few weeks since she had seen it last. She would need fresh flowers for that trip. Perhaps she could send for some from Mars, those sweet little bulbous ones that he’d liked so much. She hadn’t gotten him those for a while. But there was the issue of sending her regards to the Martian princes if she did that so maybe not right then.

So, nothing. There was really nothing to do.

Silvia exhaled through her mouth, letting the acid tingle on her tongue as she tilted her head back. She could sleep, of course. She could dream about doing something interesting. Perhaps taking a visit to Mars wouldn’t be so bad. These niceties were always best gotten rid of as soon as possible. Besides, she hadn’t seen Sid and Hephaestus in a few decades. Maybe she would make it a whole trip and visit Mara and Hercules in Mercury while she was out and about. Maybe Arianna would enjoy it too. Sometimes, spending time around those who did not age either was the best remedy for a heavy heart. No more of this carpentry nonsense for Arianna, it was unbecoming to a princess of Venus.

Suddenly refreshed with her decision, Silvia rose from the pool and glided towards the sliding door, already planning how best to make their trip as extended and fruitful as possible. Perhaps they could all hop over to Jupiter and do some shopping there. Surely they had something new and exciting to keep her attention while she was there.

She made it through the threshold of her sister Lillian’s room when the planet began to rumble. She thought nothing of it as she flitted to the sofa against her sister’s bed and rested her head on Arianna’s lap, enjoying the feel of soft silk under her cheek.

“Get off me,” Arianna growled, flipping through her latest love novel. It already had ripped out pages from scenes she found boring. The rest of the story probably didn’t have much hope of survival if her frantic skimming meant anything.

“I think we should go on holiday,” Silvia said, twisting a strand of Arianna’s long golden hair between her fingers.

“Do you feel that?” Lillian said, her fingers stilling on the piano. She stayed perfectly still, her long blonde hair tied back and hidden in a braid. It made her face look pinched and anxious, like she always was. Silvia rolled her eyes.

“The planet has been shaky for hours,” Silvia said, waving her hand. “I already sent the stabilizers a strongly worded letter about this. It offset the pool temperatures and disturbed my morning swim.”

“That isn’t something we should ignore,” Lillian said, turning to face them, her face twisted in worry.

“Worry, worry, worry, that’s all you do,” Arianna sighed and tossed some ripped out pages on the floor. “It isn’t good for your skin, Lily flower.”

“I still think we should investigate the disturbance and make sure it isn’t something we should be concerned with,” Lillian said, drawing her chin back against her chest like a submissive horse. Like Venus used to… Silvia surged to her feet, angry in spite of herself.

“Give it a rest, Lily,” she hissed. “Not everything has to be a crisis for you to agonize over.” Arianna sat back with the book in her lap, trying to hide a smile. “We’re going on holiday. I’ve decided. I’m tired of all this sameness. I think a change in scenery would be good for us, especially for you Lily flower. Your hair is looking rather limp these days.”

Lillian turned her face away, one hand absently reaching up to stroke her braid. Arianna opened her mouth, probably to make another comment about Lillian’s poor appearance, when the entire room shook like a snow globe.

“What! What!” Arianna squawked, diving for the communicator on the side of the door. The room shook again and she missed, landing in a heap outside with her dress over her head to reveal lacy blue panties and a bruise forming on her upper thigh. Lillian grabbed onto the walls and made it to the communicator.

“This is Princess Lillian! What’s going on?” she yelled just as the room stopped shaking. Silvia slowly removed her hands from around her ears, cautiously waiting for something else to happen. The faint trickle of water and the whir of exposed machines in the wall were the only sounds they heard. Arianna carefully crawled back into the room, her bangs sticking up and to the right of her face.

“This is Princess Lillian,” she said again, more slowly this time. “We just felt a disturbance in our rooms. What is going on?”

“We don’t know, Your Majesty,” came the quick, desperate reply of some technician Silvia couldn’t recall hearing before. “There was a power influx a few minutes ago and an indecipherable coded message from Mercury and then… the Queen should come in as soon as possible. I think the computers are broken.”

“Which ones?” Lillian asked, dusting some glass off her gown as she searched for her shoes in the messy room.

“All of them.”

...

“Do we have any idea what happened?” Silvia muttered, flanked on both sides by Lillian and Arianna. They had taken the time to clean themselves up before descending on Magellan Castle in a flurry of light and sound. The castle overlooking the planet could barely conceal the way Venus was glowing brilliantly, sending out shockwaves of energy at an alarming and ever increasing rate. The palace on Venus where the three sisters lived had taken an alarming amount of damage in the three hours since they had left. The servants had sent word that most of the priceless artifacts had been evacuated just before the roof collapsed and most of the palace sank beneath the surface of the planet. Just like that, her home was gone.

Silvia trembled with rage and a touch of fear as she watched the monitors flicker and pulse with energy as the technicians struggled to communicate with the other planets. They mostly originated from Mercury, from immigrant parents who knew that their second-class children stood a much better chance surviving in Venus’s relatively lax academic world than in Mercury’s cut-throat environment. Their lack of skill was showing now as they struggled with the encrypted codes from their mother planet.

“I think I’ve got it,” one of them chirped. Silvia took a step towards the screen and sighed a little in relief as it flickered and a familiar face appeared on the screen.

“Prince Hephaestus,” Silvia said, smiling thinly. “How are you?” The face that stared back at them was eerily familiar. Prince Hephaestus hadn’t changed at all since they’d seen him last. Raven black hair swept carelessly over his forehead and cropped short in the back, armor padding on his shoulders and chest, and the traditional red arrows on his back. He was probably holding his bow in his hand just out of the screen’s view. Prince Mulciber paced just behind him, his slightly longer dark hair trailing after him as he turned sharply on his heel, back and forth, back and forth.

“I’ve been better,” Hephaestus said gruffly, his massive arms crossed over his chest as he leveled a steady, piercing stare at her. Silvia tried not to remember that look from ages ago. Even now, so far from his physical presence, she was still scared of him. “You wouldn’t happen to know why the computers have all gone crazy would you? I just got word from Jupiter that they’re having similar problems with any piece of machinery somehow connected to Mercury.”

“Is it possible that Mercury has staged an attack of some kind?” Lillian spoke up, knitting her fingers together. “Everything seems to be somehow connected to Mercury.”

“But why now?” Hephaestus mused, relaxing his harsh stance and running his fingers through his hair. “And why are our birthmarks manifested?” He pointed to his forehead where the symbol of Mars glowed between his eyebrows. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“None of this makes sense,” Arianna piped up. “Maybe it would make more sense if we could decipher the coded message Mercury sent us just before the shockwave. We haven’t been able to yet.”

“Arianna,” Silvia growled under her breath. Arianna shot her a venomous glare and turned up her chin a little.

“Did you receive any message from Mercury?” Arianna asked, swatting away Silvia’s hands. Lillian’s hands fluttered towards them, probably wanting to stop their fighting, but she drew back and wrapped her arms around her elbows and stared nervously at Hephaestus.

“No,” Hephaestus said. “It's Hercules on the planet, right? He’d have sent us a message if something was going on.”

“Maybe he didn’t have time,” Lillian said. “We’ve been trying to reach Mercury ever since the quakes started but there hasn’t been any response except for the encrypted message. Princess Mara hasn’t sent any messages either.”

“Just what is going on,” Mulciber muttered, coming up behind his older brother. Silvia reflected that he had a handsome face, much too handsome for a Martian, but Mulciber had always been that way. If only he didn’t have a personality like a bucking horse, full of temper and wildness. “If the Mercurians think that they can run a simulation or some stupid program through our planets’ computers, we’ll have a thing or two to run by them when we find out what’s going on.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Silvia said, forcing a smile. “We shall be much closer to discovering the truth once the message has been decoded.”

They stood around silently (pacing in Mulciber’s case) for a good ten minutes until a screen fluttered to life between them. “I got it,” an unseen voice croaked somewhere in the room. Silvia fought down a triumphant grin, surging closer to see as the screen flickered once and then Mara’s familiar heart-shaped face appeared on the screen, the symbol of Mercury burning on her forehead.

“Took long enough,” Hercules’ unmistakable gruff voice came from directly behind Mara as his shaggy head popped into view. “Your computers suck.”

“Shut up,” Arianna hissed, her shoulders tensing as they always did around Hercules. They glared at each other and it was clear in moments that some sort of useless argument was about to start that would pinwheel them all far away from the point of this whole communication.

“What in the name of Venus are you doing?” Silvia said quickly, half shoving Arianna behind her. “I don’t know what you think you have the right to do but whatever it is, cease at once. You’ve caused unspeakable trauma to my planet and I _will not stand for it._ ”

“We’d love to stop it but we’re not in charge anymore,” Hercules said, swinging his chair from side to side as Mara rolled her eyes. “We’re contacting you to warn you that your planets are going to start feeling more than a few tremors. Mercury’s on complete lockdown. The lights have gone out all over the planet and some sectors have been closed for emergency repairs.”

“You’re not running a war simulation?” Hephaestus said, the scar on his eyebrow wriggling in disbelief.

“Ha! If only,” Hercules said, tugging on his earlobe. “That would have been awesome. No, we just got hacked.”

“That’s funny,” Arianna said with a sneer. “Mercury’s top hackers got hacked.”

“It would be funny if our planet wasn’t falling apart at the seams,” Mara said dryly. “Ours is just the start. Your planets will start feeling the pressure soon. It might extend as far as Jupiter from our meager calculations.”

“Jupiter?” Silvia whispered. “What the hell is happening?”

“Apparently, Earth is having some sort of crisis,” Hercules said, a note of bitterness mixing in with the sarcastic lilt of his words. “They’ve got youma coming out of the seams and attacking their people. They appear to be supremely ill equipped to handle so much negative energy so they’ve come up with a plan to seal them into quadrants and systematically purify all of them. In order to do it, they need our computers.” A stunned silence followed his speech.

“I thought Earth didn’t know about youma,” Arianna said at least, her eyes round and blue in her lovely face.

“How do you even know that?” Silvia said, frowning.

“They’ve been in our system for hours now,” Hercules said. “I’ve just been watching their calculations feed into the computer and I pieced it together. They’re using a tracking program blended with a containment force field. There’s also a purifying command for each of the quadrants they’ve designated. I’d say they’re about 45 percent complete at this point.”

“Which means they have a power source strong enough to cover the entire planet Earth?” Hephaestus said incredulously. That was the real crux of the matter. Hacking the Mercury main computers? Impossible – but once you wrapped your head around it, not such a crazy notion. Running those computers hard enough that all the planets connected to it went through various stages of intense revolt? Also pretty bad. A power source so enormous that it required the use of the Mercury computers working at full capacity while said power source coated the entire planet Earth? Silvia’s mind went numb for a moment.

“What can possibly produce that much energy?” she whispered.

“Only one object I’ve ever come across,” Hephaestus said breathlessly. “The Silver Crystal.”

“It’s impossible,” Arianna said quickly. “Don’t be ridiculous. That stupid stone was destroyed. All of us know that.”

“The Senshi are the ones who hacked the computers,” Hercules said. It was as if he had turned up the dial on the radio. Everyone started yelling at once, all manner of insults and exclamations of disbelief.

“I saw them!” Hercules yelled above the din, effectively butting everyone else out of the conversation. “I saw Mercury, I saw her hack the system, I spoke to her, and she did it. We’ve seen them, all of them. They’re on Earth. They’re using the computers to purify the youma.” Silence pressed in on them, making the words sting in their ears. “Get over it. Take it. Whatever you need to do to accept this fact, do it now because we have to figure out what we’re going to do about it.”

“What are we supposed to do about it? We only have your word that the Senshi have returned,” Arianna sneered.

“Doesn’t matter what you think. Those of us who actually matter have to do something,” his gaze drifted briefly to Silvia and then Hephaestus. “They’ve wormed their way into our system and are currently tearing Mercury apart. According to my calculations, Venus hasn’t faired any better and it’s only a matter of time before Mars and Jupiter bear the brunt of it. They aren’t even halfway done! Can we afford not to respond?” Hercules said, leaning back in his chair.

“What are our options?” Hephaestus asked, face solemn and dark.

“As Arianna so uselessly suggested, we could do nothing. And have absolutely no idea what the Senshi are up to and if or when they will use the Mercury Computers for another project,” Hercules said, rolling his eyes. “Or we could go to Earth and find out what’s going on.”

“We can’t go right now,” Mulciber pointed out. “If they’re using this massive amount of energy like you say they are, then the entire planet must be sequestered off.”

“That’s true,” Hercules allowed. “The only power source that they could possibly be using is the Silver Crystal. That isn’t something any of us can fight against. So, since we have some time to kill as it were, I suggest we figure out a strategy on how to approach Earth. We haven’t exactly kept in touch with the planet.”

“Who would want to?” Arianna sneered. “It’s such a low-powered, miserable little waste of a planet with no sense of fashion whatsoever.”

“Yes, definitely, talk like that when we get to Earth. I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it there,” Hercules said.

“Come on, that’s enough,” Hephaestus said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “God, you would think after a thousand years you two would find a way to get along.”

“No such luck,” Lillian said, offering him a shallow smile. Hephaestus grinned at her tiredly but then Arianna shoved Lillian off the platform.

“Oops,” she hissed.

“Really helpful,” Hercules said.

“What can we do in terms of strategy?” Silvia interrupted before a fistfight could break out between her younger sisters. If that happened, Lily flower would probably beat the ever-loving snot out of Arianna and Silvia would, yet again, have to soothe her wailing sister’s wounded pride. They had so many more important things to worry about.

“I don’t think we should all go at once,” Hercules said, resting his cheek against his knuckles as he swung from side to side in his chair. “I think we should go to Earth in pairs, or small groups. Obviously the Senshi are busy with whatever threat they’re currently dealing with, right? And that threat will not necessarily disappear once they finish doing whatever it is they’re doing. They won’t want to leave their posts en masse just to speak with us. They may not even remember us.”

“It has been over a thousand years,” Mara pointed out, speaking for the first time in a long while. Her eyes were bloodshot and hooded in dark circles, making her face seem paler than Silvia remembered it. Mara was always so levelheaded; it was good to know she was part of this conversation.

“So what you’re suggesting is that we go to Earth in pairs so that we can speak with the Senshi individually without threatening their mission,” Hephaestus summarized, rubbing his fingers over his lips. “And as a sign of goodwill to the rulers of Earth. It is impolite to storm into another person’s planet without a proper invitation.”

“We’ll go first,” Silvia said quickly. Everyone looked at her and she smiled, already seeing in their eyes that they meant to protest. “Who better to send then Earth’s neighbor? Venus will be a sympathetic planet for the Earth people to trust.”

“Mars is Earth’s neighbor as well,” Mulciber said, arching an eyebrow.

“Yes, but we of Venus are a great deal prettier than you Martians,” Silvia cooed. Hercules and Mara started laughing.

“I don’t know,” Mulciber deadpanned, “I think I’m _very_ pretty. Don’t you think so, Hephaestus?”

“Shut up,” Hephaestus said, fighting back a grin. “Fine, you can go first. But I want to remain in constant communication while you’re there. We don’t even know if the Senshi will talk to us once we get there.”

“We have to make them listen,” Hercules said, his voice losing the last traces of humor. “It might not… be the ones we remember. They might be… other girls; the next Senshi who were simply reborn with the power. It’s unlikely that they’re our… family. So don’t get your hopes up.” It was clear to everyone present that Hercules was speaking more to himself than to the others. Silvia felt an unfamiliar prickle of pity for the most brilliant son of Jupiter, surrounded by computers and cold machinery when he should have brimmed with life. It was pretty pathetic, really.

“Should we inform Jupiter of our plans?” Lillian said, shooting Arianna a venomous look when her sister raised her arm to push her again. “They probably want to know what’s going on.”

“I’ll represent my family,” Hercules said. “After all, I was the only one who ever cared about my sister.”

“After Silvia then we’ll go,” Mulciber piped up. “I should be able to sense if there is a disguise among the Senshi.”

“Will Queen Frida wish to come along?” Silvia said, perking up a bit. She was rather fond of the Martian Queen.

“My niece will be far too busy with planetary matters to involve herself with this,” Hephaestus said a bit aggressively. “We’ll keep her informed as we make our move. No doubt she’d love to go if Mars is really there.”

“Then I guess that leaves you and me last,” Mara said, glancing back at Hercules. “We can work with their technicians and see if we can’t bring them into the network. That way, we’ll have a better way of keeping an eye on them while also making it harder for them to lock us out of our own system.”

“Sounds good to me,” Hercules said, stretching his arms lazily over his head and offering them a grin. “We’ll have another meeting when they’re closer to finishing their mission. I’m sure we’ll all be eager to see what happens next.”

...

She felt as if every bone in her body was about to crack like a piece of glass dropped on the floor. She felt like her skin had grown tight and pinched, trying to hold something too large for it to conceal. She felt as if her voice had floated out of her throat and now bounced around in her head like an echo.

Nothing existed outside of her body. All she could feel was herself – her fingers arching into claws and relaxing, arching and relaxing; the soft brush of wind against her bare toes, the way her gown chaffed her armpits and constricted her breath – and nothing else existed. Well, nothing except the towering presence of Usagi looming in the back of her mind, gently coaxing their crystals to synchronize and feed the gaping chasm of the Mercury Computer.

The Mercury Computer was a cold, fast-paced endlessness with numbers and letters flashing by so quickly that it felt as if Chibi Usa were in a tunnel of blue light. When she’d started, she could sense Sailor Mercury controlling the movement of her energy and could even sense Mamoru somewhere near Usagi. Usagi had been larger than life, a torrent of energy spiraling through her core and dragging everything – her fear, her joy, her soul – out through the crystal and laid bare for the world to see. Now, after an eternity of this raw exposure, Chibi Usa couldn’t feel much more than exhaustion.

_I don’t know how much longer I can do this,_ her voice resounded in her head, bouncing off the walls and slithering back down her throat. It hurt to think.

_Just a little longer,_ Usagi’s voice soothed along the jagged edges of her mind. Cool fingers wrapped around her aching hands, lifting her up and holding the energy for her. Chibi Usa felt a resounding relief for this small mercy. Later, she would feel terrible guilt. Usagi was feeling everything she was feeling and more, shouldering far more of this task than she was. To take on more just because it hurt… what a selfish act.

**WE’RE ALMOST THERE,** came Mercury’s message. Chibi Usa balked at the pressure of her words, cutting into her thoughts and concentration. She struggled to hold onto the crystal as it bucked in her hands. **WE’RE AT 82 PERCENT RIGHT NOW. THIS IS ACTUALLY WORKING!**

Time seemed to slow down after this declaration and even Usagi’s comforting presence faded. Chibi Usa withdrew into her mind, drifting past memories like soap bubbles on the surface of water. She glided over that water, peering disinterestedly on her past as it slipped by her in lazy currents. She forgot what she was doing. She forgot where she was. All she saw were her memories as the life poured out of her.

_Child, come back,_ a soft voice drifted over her, soothing the jagged sensations around her mind. She ignored the voice, her hand resting momentarily on her first memory of meeting Helios. He dipped and threw back his head, the golden horn flashing in the light of the moon. She felt the familiar rush as he ducked under her and took to the skies, flying with her on his back. The rush of wind, the sweet smell of sugar in the air, a soft kiss in the darkness of her dreams.

_She’s withdrawing into herself. I must help her,_ the voice whispered very far away.

_Don’t go near her!_ Someone said. A male voice. Mamo-chan? Was that… but he was right here, petting her hair and feeding her medicine. She had a fever. She wasn’t feeling well. She’d had a fight with Usagi again. _The Senshi said that she was going to need all her concentration. You can’t go sticking yourself into the situation when they’re nearly done._

_You do not understand me, Sol. She is fading out, she is losing herself. I_ must _help her,_ the voice was stronger now, cutting into the memories. Chibi Usa tried to lift her hands to her ears, to block out the sound, but she couldn’t feel her hands anymore.

_WAIT! Don’t touch her!_

The world twisted inside out and fell out from under her. Chibi Usa came back to herself with a sudden screech as the floor concaved beneath her. She screamed but no sound came out. She stumbled and tripped, her muscles working all at once as she twisted around like a fish out of water, turning her aching head up to see the crystal.

The Moon Queen had obviously taken on more than she could handle. The crystal visibly bucked in her hands, violently slamming into her palms and then vibrating as the energy turned from brilliant white to a muggy brown and then to dripping red, pooling on the ground in thick globs.

With a lurch, the crystal shattered and vanished. The lights instantly went out and the energy in the room went out with them. Only the soft light of the computer monitors winked at them as the screens scrambled and went blank with white snow. Chibi Usa felt Usagi scream somewhere far away.

“N-No!” Chibi Usa managed through her raw throat. She stumbled to her feet, using the computer consol to prop herself up. Uranus and Neptune sagged onto the floor, their eyes thrown open blindly as they convulsed. They were still connected to the crystal, Chibi Usa realized with mounting horror. Usagi was still-! She was still-!

“NO!” Chibi Usa screamed. “Sailor Moon stop! Stop using the crystal, it’ll kill you!” She yelled. Even as she grew desperate, she could feel it. The sudden weightlessness as her hands faded for a second. Oh god. Oh no. She felt it. She was going to… she was about to…

“NO!” she yelled, twisting back around to face the room. The Moon Queen had crumpled on the ground, her hands outstretched as if she could still feel the crystal, her eyes wide. Sol and Gaea were tense behind her, arms raised as if they could somehow stop what had just happened.

“What have I done?” the Moon Queen whispered, her hands slowly lowering. “No… I didn’t mean to… I thought I could…”

“Mercury!” Chibi Usa yelled, diving for the monitor. A small video feed enlarged on the screen to show her Sailor Mercury. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream and she had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She struggled to lean forward and open her eyes. “Sailor Mercury, tell Sailor Moon to stop using the crystal!”

“I can’t,” she gasped. “The feed broke hours ago. It couldn’t take – the power – I… I can’t warn her,” she doubled over and grabbed her stomach, the power around her body coalescing around her head in angry waves.

“We have to,” Chibi Usa whispered, struggling. She stared at the screen, her eyes dancing from Venus, to Mars, to Jupiter… think, think, think! She slammed her fist on the keyboard, pain shooting up her arm. Suddenly, it came to her.

“The crystal…” Chibi Usa whispered. It was so perfect… if it worked. If it worked!

She ran back to the center of the room and yanked the pendant from her throat. The Time key skittered and slid off the chain and landed by Gaea’s foot. Chibi Usa didn’t care. She lifted the Golden Crystal and screamed the first words that came to her mind.

“Golden Crystal! Please, lend me your strength! Papa! Help me!”

...

Mamoru felt it the second Sailor Moon lost control. She’d been pulsing with energy for hours now, feeding the Mercury Crystal as the force fields had gone up all over the world. The whole time, Mercury’s steady reports had come in through his earpiece and assured him of the quarantine as they’d gone through. The threat had been larger even then they had speculated, covering nearly the entire planet in youma. He’d thought Sailor Moon would be okay. It had been difficult at first but she grew in strength the longer she used the crystal, an almost serene look replacing the pained expression she’d worn when she first started.

She’d even talked to Chibi Usa as if she could see her. That had been a comfort, to know that Sailor Moon wasn’t alone in this struggle and that at least someone else could shoulder the burden. But then something had gone horribly wrong. Sailor Moon had tightened up all at once, her body arching back and then the energy ballooned around her in clumps, like condensation. She’d screamed and thrashed for a moment but then steady herself, thrusting her arms up and forced even more energy out. He’d nearly been thrown back by the force of it.

Sailor Moon’s eyes were open now and she grunted and cried out every few moments, as if it was all too much for her. But she was stubborn. She wasn’t going to stop. _If only Mercury hadn’t said anything,_ Mamoru groaned, dancing around her in anxious circles as he tried to help, tried to do anything.

That’s when he heard it, as loud as an airhorn directly in his mind. _Golden Crystal! Please, lend me your strength! Papa! Help me!_

All at once he remembered. The crystal! It wasn’t as strong as the Silver Crystal and he barely knew how to use it, but if Chibi Usa was helping… and if they could at least partially alleviate the burden that Sailor Moon was even now struggling to hold up all by herself… He didn’t waste another moment, searching within himself for the crystal’s presence.

It came to his hand in a moment, glowing with warmth and reassurance. He instantly felt his panic and fear ebb away and he concentrated on the light of that feeling. Chibi Usa’s hand reached out and gripped his, hard. She pulled him to where Sailor Moon was locked away, fighting with her energy.

He reached out and the three pulled close together. He brushed his lips over Sailor Moon’s head, feeling the tension slowly drain from her brow. The energy surrounding her body was a little too painful, a little too intense, but he held on anyway. He let Chibi Usa guide their strength, rerouting it back into the Mercury Computer and flooding it with their combined energy. Sailor Moon rested her head against his shoulder, a small smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

They remained poised like that forever, Mamoru and Sailor Moon supporting each other as Chibi Usa directed the energy away from them, standing powerful and brilliant in their mind’s eye. Sailor Moon slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him, her face glowing brilliantly.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you,” he whispered back, resting his forehead against hers.

**THAT’S IT! WE’VE DONE IT! STOP STOP STOP!** Sailor Mercury screamed somewhere far away. Chibi Usa yanked her energy back abruptly but still managed to hold them all up, waiting for Sailor Moon to slowly come back to herself, the energy fading slowly until she was back in her own skin. Her gown faded back into her Senshi uniform and then back to her civilian clothing. She dropped to her knees with Mamoru, her head gently landing against his shoulder again. She breathed in and then slowly out, the air tickling his neck as she stayed there.

“I think I need to take a nap right now,” Sailor Moon whispered.

“Okay,” Mamoru whispered back, running his fingers down her neck, over her shoulder, and coming to rest on her upper arm. She smiled against his neck and slumped into his arms, unconscious. Mamoru sighed softly and wrapped both arms around her, sitting back on his shins. Somewhere in the far recesses of his mind, he felt Chibi Usa collapse.

...

“Just let us go,” Chixota growled, shifting from foot to foot as Saturn fiddled with the Pluto computer. Castle Charon was cold and completely silent, something that Bran had only experienced once, when he’d been thrown into the Galaxy Prison centuries ago. He could still feel the oppressive stillness, the very edge of sound, and it frankly freaked him out. Saturn didn’t seem to care, typing away on the keyboard as if she had nothing better to do. Bran paced by the door, swatting Jukai away when he tried to soothe him.

“We should go back,” Bran grunted. “I don’t think we should have left Usa alone. Your Senshi may be strong but there were a lot of youma. We could have helped.”

“I think you underestimate Chibi Usa’s power,” Saturn said in her flat voice, devoid of inflection or emotion. Still, Bran got the distinct impression that she was annoyed. “In a matter of moments, she would have vaporized the three of you without even intending to. It was better to get you out.”

“But then why out here to your farthest planet? Don’t you think we should have stuck around, at least somewhere closer in case we could help? What if they needed you?” Bran said, coming up behind her to peer at the screen. He couldn’t understand the language and he doubted Sailor Saturn was about to explain what she was doing.

“I wasn’t sure how far their energy would reach,” Saturn said a bit distractedly. “The Mercury Computer would have amplified their force. It could theoretically extend as far as Jupiter, perhaps a little farther. I couldn’t risk making Chibi Usa sad.”

“Crazy,” Chixota grumbled. “All for some stupid brat, you’d risk your life to get us out of there.”

“That ‘crazy brat’ is my future Queen and sovereign,” Saturn said, turning a cold glare in his direction. “She is stronger and more compassionate than you will ever know. For now, she feels the need to show pity on you pathetic monsters and I would rather suffer your idiocy for a few more hours if it will bring her some relief from that terrible guilt she feels for your twisted lives. But mark my words. The second you screw up, the second you step one inch out of line, I will be there and I will happily slice that pretty little head from your shoulders. Do we understand each other?”

Chixota stared at her, keeping perfectly still. Saturn continued to glare at him for another moment before she turned back to the computer screen.

“We have to get out of here,” Jukai whispered by Bran’s ear. “She’s going to kill us.”

Bran hesitated. Chixota was looking at him with much the same expression, his eyes guarded. He wanted to leave, wanted to get away while there was only one distracted Senshi in the room. Hell, she’d probably welcome their escape as an excuse not to deal with them anymore. And yet… he didn’t know why, but he couldn’t shake Chibi Usa’s worried face from his memory. She’d been so earnest about their safety, so concerned for their lives, as if they hadn’t just met a few hours ago. As if they were maybe, possibly even… friends.

How ridiculous. Bran looked away, setting his jaw. Fine, they would leave. They could find a way back to the future somehow, if not in this galaxy then certainly in another. They could hitch a ride somewhere else, maybe back home, and find a way from there. It would all work out somehow. He turned back to Jukai, to give him some quiet instructions on how they would make their move, when the computer started blinking.

Saturn’s fingers froze and she stared at the message. “Impossible,” she mumbled. When multiple windows popped up simultaneously and blinked in unison, she sucked in a sharp breath. In the next moment, she’d turned back to them and shoved them out of the room using her scythe to catch Jukai before he could float to the ceiling. They rushed back to the transport room where they’d first appeared and assembled on the energy circle now pulsing with light. Saturn lifted her scythe and surrounded them in a protective orb, forcing them up into the sky and quickly into the stretch of darkness that seemed endless. Bran put his hands on the field and watched as Pluto disappeared rapidly behind them. In the next moment, he saw it.

A wave of light rushed towards them, faster than light should travel, faster than anything he’d seen. Saturn twisted the force field around so she could face the coming light. “SILENCE WALL!” she screamed just as the light hit them. Bran jerked his hands away from the field with a yelp as they burned for a moment and took an extra few seconds to heal. With his heart hammering in his chest, Bran looked up into the blinding light surrounding them and knew that he should be dead. He should have been purified in that split second before Saturn threw up her shield.

Saturn’s scythe trembled with the force she was holding back but she didn’t make a sound of complaint as she held the wave back, deflected it out around them. Jukai wrapped his arms around Bran’s back and buried his head into his neck. He trembled and whimpered.

And all of a sudden, Bran felt a chill pass through him. This was Usa’s power. This was what she’d been trying to protect him from. Now he was stuck. He couldn’t possibly leave. What the hell would she do to him if he didn’t stay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter until the end of this story! I'm so excited to be reaching the end of one chapter. Thanks for the support!


	16. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bran could barely believe his eyes as they looked around the control room. Jukai drifted for a moment before he touched down, quickly grabbing Bran’s hand with both of his and half-hiding behind him. The room was completely bleached white from the intense power it had housed for the better part of nine hours. The military personnel of Earth still strode quickly from place to place but in this one room, people walked more slowly, peeked out at the corners of the sparkling room, and hushed their conversations as they passed. The Moon Queen sat on one of the desks, her hands loosely clasped in her lap as she observed them approach.
> 
> Behind her, Gaea and her husband Sol had gathered the least broken chairs and sat drinking tea, attended by guards in golden armor. They too looked up as Saturn led their little band of youma towards the center of the room. The Senshi of Silence hissed softly and hurried forward, falling to her knees onto a bed of crystals. They crackled and splintered under her legs, probably cutting her skin, but she didn’t care. She carefully laid her scythe on the ground and reached out with both hands to brush the hair from Chibi Usa’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who has read this story and will read this story; from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I have finally written the Sailor Moon story I always wanted to read and I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Silver Millennium, the sequel to Lunar Expedition, will have its first chapter posted soon. Thanks again for a wonderful ride!

Bran could barely believe his eyes as they looked around the control room. Jukai drifted for a moment before he touched down, quickly grabbing Bran’s hand with both of his and half-hiding behind him. The room was completely bleached white from the intense power it had housed for the better part of nine hours. The military personnel of Earth still strode quickly from place to place but in this one room, people walked more slowly, peeked out at the corners of the sparkling room, and hushed their conversations as they passed. The Moon Queen sat on one of the desks, her hands loosely clasped in her lap as she observed them approach.

Behind her, Gaea and her husband Sol had gathered the least broken chairs and sat drinking tea, attended by guards in golden armor. They too looked up as Saturn led their little band of youma towards the center of the room. The Senshi of Silence hissed softly and hurried forward, falling to her knees onto a bed of crystals. They crackled and splintered under her legs, probably cutting her skin, but she didn’t care. She carefully laid her scythe on the ground and reached out with both hands to brush the hair from Chibi Usa’s face.

Bran was relieved to see her chest slowly rising and falling, her eyelashes fluttering from whatever dream she had. She didn’t look a thing like the way she had been when he’d seen her last. A crescent moon adorned her forehead, making her look surprisingly regal in her sleep. Her long pink hair lay in loose rays around her head like a blanket of cotton candy, her silver and gold gown accentuating her tiny waist and her long legs. Her arms were curled around her chest as if she were hugging herself, like a small child after a long day. A brightly shining golden crystal pulsed above her head and expelled a gentle energy blast to knock Saturn nearly ten feet back.

“It doesn’t let anyone near her,” Sol said, surprising them. He knelt by Chibi Usa and an unreadable expression masked his face. “Even I can’t get too close. It’s better than it was a few hours ago.”

“As long as she’s alright,” Saturn said, carefully rising to her feet and retrieving her scythe from beside Chibi Usa. The crystal pulsed again in warning but Saturn had already backed off. Bran could practically feel the burning from that crystal and so made certain to stay directly behind Saturn in case she needed to throw up some kind of shield to protect them.

“Are the other Senshi alright?” Bran thought to ask, looking around for the one that hated his guts. What had her name been again?

“Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are in the other room conferring with Sailor Mercury,” the Moon Queen said, lowering her eyes slightly. “We have been banned from the meeting.”

“Aren’t you in charge or something? Go knock down the door,” Bran said, eyeing her. Hell, kick the door down. She looked big enough to get through anything.

“She’s already made enough of a mess,” Gaea said darkly. She’d changed into a splendid red gown with delicate white lace and short white gloves. She sidled past Sol and went directly to Bran, taking his hand in hers before he could think to step back. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you before, for helping her when she made her way here. And me too. Thank you.”

“Er,” Bran said, his eyes going wide. He would have shaken her off if her grip wasn’t like iron around his fingers. “It was nothing.”

“It was everything,” Gaea said firmly. “You have no idea how much she means to me.”

“I thought you didn’t know her?” Bran said, frowning as he looked from Saturn to Gaea. Saturn didn’t seem to have any idea what she was talking about either, if the flat, expressionless way she tilted her head meant anything. Strangely enough, he was starting to decipher her blank stares.

“I didn’t know who she was until…” she paused, and then stopped altogether. Bran waited for her to finish but she just shook her head and offered him a watery smile, her lips trembling. “Just please believe me when I say you have my thanks.”

“Okay,” he said, his skin crawling. She finally released him and stepped back, wrapping her arms around her stomach. The Moon Queen stared at him intently and nodded, turning away. Bran watched them walk away without another word, thoughts drifting lazily through his mind as Saturn came up beside him like a heavy thundercloud at his back. He was still really confused about what was going on. Chibi Usa had seemed pretty comfortable with the complexity of their time traveling adventures, seemingly knowing everyone around her.

And he didn’t know what it meant but the Moon Queen looked disturbingly similar to the Neo Queen Serenity he’d spied from afar when they’d attacked the Crystal Palace. It wasn’t anything specific since he’d been way in the back when the attack began. But there was something about the way she carried herself, her graceful posture as she blended into everything around her, like a gentle wind touching everything, moving with a determination and grace he had never seen before. Usa had a little of that but it was blaring in the Moon Queen. It made him wish he could wash his hands after seeing her, to get that feeling off him.

He ran a hand through his hair and grinned in the direction of the monitors. Jukai and Chixota looked bored out of their minds, sitting like docile children on the plastic chairs someone had salvaged from the research dome. Jukai even had a mug of some warm liquid in his hands, which he levitated every few seconds and sighed heavily. He’d have to do something to entertain them until they figured out what their next move was. 

He was about to walk towards them when he realized that Saturn was no longer beside him. He turned back to see what her deal was but she was turned back the way they’d come, her face surprisingly open and happy. Bran looked where she was looking. Kneeling beside Chibi Usa, gently running a gloved hand over her face, was a masked man. He smiled down at her round sleeping face and gripped her hand.

“Hey! Get the hell away from her!” Bran yelled, forgetting about the pulsing crystal until he felt its burn a moment later. The crystal had flared to life, drenching the room in light. Saturn shoved her scythe in Bran’s face seconds before the light touched him, erecting a powerful barrier to shield him. The soles of his feet disintegrated for an agonizing moment and he yelped, leaping back so that the barrier would cover his feet as well.

“Don’t worry,” Saturn said quickly. “That’s Tuxedo Mask. He’s not going to hurt her.”

“Tuxedo what?” Bran said incredulously. “Who is this fruitcake?”

“Tuxedo Mask, you idiot,” Saturn said between clenched teeth. “You’d better watch your mouth or I’m going to let that crystal burn you up.” She stepped around Bran and went directly to Tuxedo Mask. A strange, genuine smile lit up her face so that she actually looked… beautiful. It was a little eerie. “It’s good to see you again. Is everyone alright?”

“Yes,” Tuxedo Mask said, smiling thinly. His voice echoed strangely and his image shimmered for a moment before it strengthened. Bran could now make out the red in his cape and the faint color of his skin. “Mercury recovered from the shock of power before the others. She’ll be sending you a transmission soon but right now she’s occupied with setting up some permanent connections between the Mercury Computer and our new shields. In case anything like this ever happens again, we’ll be prepared this time.”

“Good,” Saturn said. She glanced down at Chibi Usa and then back at him. “Is Sailor Moon alright?”

“She’s resting,” Tuxedo Mask said, his head tilting back a little to watch Bran over the rim of his mask. “That took a lot out of her but Luna said she’d be back to her old self in no time. The others are safe too.”

“Good,” Saturn repeated, her eyes flickering back at Bran as well.

“Is that the youma who Chibi Usa wanted to rescue?” Tuxedo Mask finally asked, pointing directly at him. Bran normally didn’t feel threatened when he had a finger pointed at him. He’d been chased by galactic police and thrown in prison multiple times, where he had to fight his way out and barely survived. But for some reason, the way Tuxedo Mask – the freaking fruitcake with a weird cape and a top hat for crying out loud – looked as if he was more than ready to beat the ever-loving snot out of him. And Bran got the sinking feeling that he could probably do it too.

“That would be him,” Saturn said. “If you just give me the order, I would be more than happy to dust him.” And then she smiled an eerie, amused little smile that sent a chill down Bran’s spine.

“If he’s Chibi Usa’s friend, I won’t say anything,” Tuxedo Mask said, scowling at her. Saturn didn’t look particularly repentant as she shrugged. He walked towards Bran until they were nearly nose-to-nose. He then proceeded to look Bran up and down as if he were a statute with missing pieces, a slight frown on his face. Bran narrowed his eyes and cocked his hips to one side and leered.

“Something bothering you, Tuxy?” Bran said. Tuxedo Mask blinked at him and then chuckled, mirroring his stance. “Or do you just like staring at unconscious girls after they’ve had their energy drained from them?” His eyes flicked briefly to Chibi Usa and he felt a little of the now-familiar worry gnawing at him. She was going to be okay, right? Dammit, why did he care about a stupid human? Or… was she even human? Why did he care about someone who could accidently kill him?

“Not at all,” Tuxedo Mask said with some amusement, grabbing Bran’s attention again. “I was just wondering if I should let you hang around my daughter, is all.”

Bran felt the floor disappear from under him. No wait, that would have been better. At least then the sinking sensation would have a reason. Did he just… had he just been insulting Usa’s father? Bran gawked at him, twisted his head to stare at Chibi Usa, then back at him.

“You’re… the King of Crystal Tokyo?” Bran said incredulously. Because really, the man looked completely ridiculous. And nothing like Usa at all! Not that you could see much of him, with his insane getup. And people thought youma wore strange outfits!

“Future King of Crystal Tokyo, yup,” Tuxedo Mask said. “Not king yet. Or a father yet, to be honest.”

“So… right. You’re Usa’s father,” Bran said, feeling his face heat up. Dammit, no! Don’t get embarrassed! How were you supposed to know? He schooled his features into impassivity and focused on Saturn’s amused expression. Getting annoyed at her for not warning him wasn’t a good idea either so he looked at the ground. Nothing too insulting there.

“Usa?” Tuxedo Mask blinked. “Huh, you already have a nickname for her?” Bran glanced up from the floor and that sinking sensation got worse. Tuxedo Mask had looked amused before, even a little charmed. Now suspicion made his shoulders tense. “You aren’t interested in her, are you?”

“Am I what?” Bran spluttered.

“Interested,” Tuxedo Mask said, his voice hardening. “I’m trying my best to be open-minded at this point. Youma don’t exactly have a great reputation for being trustworthy.”

“I thought you’d say all youma should be destroyed on the spot, like Saturn here thinks,” Bran sneered, bristling at the accusation in Tuxedo Mask’s voice. “We are the sludge you wish to purge, the abomination you must purify, blah blah blah. I’ve heard this speech before.”

“In general, that’s all true,” Tuxedo Mask said. “I wish we didn’t have to but our first instinct is to destroy a youma on sight, not try to talk it out of its evil ways. If it comes down to a youma or protecting my family, I will kill it.” His voice softened as he looked down at Chibi Usa. “But I’ve met my fair share of good youma who have risked everything, even given up their lives, to help me. So I know that if Chibi Usa sees some good in you, it is there. Even if I can’t see it, she has her mother’s instinct.”

Bran could not have been more stunned if Tuxedo Mask had ripped off all his clothes and worn a Senshi uniform underneath. In his experience, those who had any sort of purification power at all hated youma – hated everything about them – and more irritatingly, never stopped talking about how evil youma were. So now… Bran wasn’t even sure how to process this.

“This is a really screwed up planet,” he finally said. Tuxedo Mask looked at him with some surprise and then started laughing. Just proving his damned point.

“I suppose it is,” Tuxedo Mask said, still chuckling. “Anyway, I have to get back. Sailor Moon is waking up soon, I think.” He glanced at Saturn and his expression softened. “Watch her for me.” His eyes inexplicably drifted to Bran. “Both of you. If anything happens to her…”

“It won’t,” Saturn said firmly. Bran wanted to say something cutting, off-hand and uncaring, but he just swallowed around the lump in his throat and nodded. Tuxedo Mask held his gaze for a long moment and then nodded. He vanished in the next moment. No poof of smoke, no shift of energy, he was simply gone.

“How did he do that?” Bran muttered, more to himself then anyone else. Saturn answered him anyway.

“I didn’t know he could do it now. The King of Crystal Tokyo is very adept at projecting an image of himself to any part of the Earth but I had no idea he had that ability in this time period. He must have been worried…”

“He looks ridiculous,” Bran said, trying to put a sneer behind the words. It came out sounding more puzzled. “What am I doing here?”

“I think you’re here to protect Chibi Usa,” Saturn said, surprising him. When he searched her face, it was blank, her eyes relaxed and far away, as if she could see through him. And yet… he could sense real sincerity in her words. “At least, I hope that is why you are here. In my experience, with Chibi Usa’s time travel, there are events in the past that will shape the future. Things are already different from the first time Chibi Usa came here as a very small child. But each time, everything works out and Crystal Tokyo still stands. I’d like to think you will contribute to the construction of Crystal Tokyo in some way.”

“How could I possibly have anything to do with that?” Bran said, arching both eyebrows. He could feel his fangs press down on his lip and relaxed his jaw. He couldn’t go stabbing away at his own flesh, it would be annoying to heal in front of the Senshi. Saturn shook her head, her glossy black hair swaying from side to side. “I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing here. It’s a coincidence.”

“No, it isn’t,” she said. “And you already know that.”

He didn’t argue. The tension drained from his shoulders and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was standing beside one of the deadliest Senshi he had ever met and all he felt was… tired.

“What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to protect her? Why should I? She could dust me in seconds. She could dust me by accident. None of you trust me anyway,” Bran said to his hand.

“It’s alright, I don’t trust anyone,” Saturn said lightly. It was the first time he heard any real inflection in her voice. When he glanced at her, she had that creepy smile again. “Except for Chibi Usa, I mean. And Sailor Moon. They are the only ones I really trust. I do not trust anyone else.”

“Not even the King?” Bran said, pointing to where the hologram had just stood. Saturn hesitated a moment and then finally shrugged her too-thin shoulders.

“I would like to say that I trust him, but he is not really strong enough yet to warrant my trust. And he has been a liability to the princess’s safety often enough that I have found that thinking of him as an enemy at all times makes my task much easier.”

Bran wasn’t sure what to say to that. The implication was in her calculating eyes, the way she watched his every move. He was someone to be concerned with, someone she viewed as a threat. And yet… the way she had spoken of trust… it was almost as if she were reaching out to him with her cold, quiet hands. Bran was terrified to know where those hands would take him. Or rather, what they would take from him. All at once he realized that he knew absolutely nothing about Usa. She lay in a beautiful heap at their feet, the crystal strangely docile now that Tuxy was gone, and this evil creature standing guard so fiercely over her. The irrational love radiated off her. He wanted to slither away and hide from her stare.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Saturn taunted, a hint of a smile at the corners of her lips. Bran prickled and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring.

“I’m not afraid of anything,” he said.

Saturn grinned. “Good.”

…

Night lay in an uneasy sleep, her arms thrown over her eyes as she tossed and turned. Beads of sweat collected on her forehead and dipped over her throat and chest. Her body pulsed for a moment, energy trickling like mist from her body as she fought with her nightmare. Orion watched her sleep, his eyes following her movements.

“Papa,” Calliope whispered from just behind him, her voice quivering. He turned back to look at her. She had her ears pressed tightly back against her skull and her tail tucked under her legs. “Shouldn’t we tell someone that she isn’t well, Papa?”

“There’s nothing they can do,” Orion said, curling his tail around her paw in a soothing way. “The crystal can’t seem to become comfortable in her body. I thought it would have stopped by now.”

“You mean the Silver Crystal?” Calliope perked up, peering over her father’s shoulder. “Is that where it disappeared to?”

“That is my theory,” Orion said. “But the crystal should have settled in her body by now. She was a previous host for it. Even if Chibi Usa is a descendent of Silver Millennium as she claims to be, the crystal should not reject a previous wielder. I’m afraid my training hasn’t prepared me for this.”

“Isn’t there anyone we could get to help?” Calliope mewed, crouching down on her tummy. The Queen gave an especially violent jerk and nearly fell off the bed, moaning weakly in her sleep.

“Luna would know what to do,” Orion said wistfully. “It was her duty to guard and train the princess and that included training with the crystal. If we could somehow get in contact with her, maybe we could find a way to break this… whatever it is.”

The Queen slowly stopped thrashing and eventually settled, her breath still fast and her hand fluttering up to her face every now and then. Orion shifted uneasily. “Go on to bed, Calliope. I will wake you if there is something you can help me with.”

“Yes, Papa,” Calliope whispered, hopping off the bed and trotting out of the room. She paused by the doorway and looked back at her father, his concentrated stare on the Queen as she moaned and turned over. She hurried out before she could get scared of leaving without him.

Orion pressed his paw against the Queen’s wrist and sighed, shaking his head. “Fever,” he mumbled. “It’s like the crystal is trying to claw its way out. Hold on, Your Majesty, we’ll figure this out.”

…

A couple hours later, Orion was stunned from his doze when the room flooded with light. In a matter of minutes, the Silver Crystal burned brilliantly in the room right over Night’s head. The light extended out to the Mercury shield that connected to all the shields on the Earth. The planet blazed to life in a symphony of colors and energy, twinkling like a blue star in the Solar System so that even distant Jupiter noticed the odd new addition to the constellations.

When Night woke, she found that all was silent. As she stood – light-headed, confused, alone – she walked out into the military compound, not noticing the furry body curled up on her pillow. All around her lay bodies. She feared at first that they were all dead but when she knelt to touch one, she saw immediately that they were only sleeping.

Chibi Usa and Bran met her as she headed for the doorway to Elysium. Even Saturn had collapsed into sleep, her body cradled around her scythe as if it were a teddy bear. A bundle of blankets supported her head, an obvious kindness from Chibi Usa as she crouched by her friend’s side, worry etched into her face.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said, tears streaming down her face in steady waves. “I just woke up and I was going to ask if it worked but then everyone collapsed!”

“I was trying to find someone who could help us but everyone’s asleep!” Bran said, pacing behind Chibi Usa. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Night said, swaying a little on her feet. “I just remember distracting you, making the crystal lose focus, and then you used the Golden Crystal… you helped Serenity. And then… I was so tired. I think I fell asleep.” Her eyes became distant and she touched her fingers to her lip. “I was dreaming about Silver Millennium.”

“What the hell is Silver Millennium?” Bran barked.

“Oh,” Night said, snapping back to the present. “I… Silver Millennium was my kingdom. Over a thousand years ago, we ruled the moon. But it was destroyed. I don’t know why I dreamt of it.”

“You were saying something about the Silver Crystal,” Chibi Usa said, scrubbing her face with the heel of her hand. “I can’t find it.”

“It shattered,” Night said. “I… oh. Oh no.” Her eyes widened. “It can’t be. I didn’t even… do the spell. It can’t…” she dove to the nearest person, her hands clawing at their face. She closed her eyes and concentrated but she was too weak to see. Even if she’d had the strength, there was no way to stop what she’d set in motion. “Impossible. Why did the crystal…? It can’t have…”

“What?” Bran said, hopping beside her, his fingers itching. “What are you going on about?”

“The Silver Crystal, when it shattered, must have connected with me. It must have seen my heart’s desire. It must have… it must have performed the spell. But I didn’t even prepare it, how could it have done it?”

“What was your heart’s desire?” Bran said. When Night stared at him blankly, he sighed and spoke slower and louder. “What was your heart’s desire?”

“I…” Night swallowed, glancing nervously at Chibi Usa, who just stared back at her. “I wanted the people of Earth to remember Silver Millennium. I wanted them to help me find Serenity.”

**Author's Note:**

> * Keats, John. “Endymion: A Poetic Romance.” Book II, Lines 739-746. Selected Poems and Letters, Riverside Editions, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston: 1959. Edited by Douglas Bush.


End file.
